Wind Chill Chart... It's cold here!
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,641
Likes: 156
From: florida
Glad it only gets this cold 3-4 times a year down here.
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 13,402
Likes: 941
From: Illinois
There is no science to the wind chill chart. The individual that wrote it had a theory that since the air just above your "exposed" skin was warmer that the air ambient temperature because that aura was not moved away when there was no breeze.
No testing was done because no group of people are able to sense and report accurately what
the temperature is.
The fallacy is that since it only applies to exposed skin it has no relevance to people who bundle up when going out in cold weather. The other fact missed by most is the lower wind chill amount is what one would guess accurately as the temperature with no wind.
I went for a 65 mile loop today and the air temp was 18 degrees. I dressed for 18 and had a very comfortable enjoyable ride. Wind chill my A--!. Had I dressed for what the phoney wind chill was I would have been uncomfortable and sweating bullets.
Look at the chart and when it is 35 degrees out and a 55 mile an hour wind place a bowl of water outside with the wind chill of zero degrees. Will the water freeze? No! because the temp is 35 degrees and neither will my skin on my exposed hands.
Wind chill charts are the biggest pile of hocus pocus nonsense ever subjected to mankind.
No testing was done because no group of people are able to sense and report accurately what
the temperature is.
The fallacy is that since it only applies to exposed skin it has no relevance to people who bundle up when going out in cold weather. The other fact missed by most is the lower wind chill amount is what one would guess accurately as the temperature with no wind.
I went for a 65 mile loop today and the air temp was 18 degrees. I dressed for 18 and had a very comfortable enjoyable ride. Wind chill my A--!. Had I dressed for what the phoney wind chill was I would have been uncomfortable and sweating bullets.
Look at the chart and when it is 35 degrees out and a 55 mile an hour wind place a bowl of water outside with the wind chill of zero degrees. Will the water freeze? No! because the temp is 35 degrees and neither will my skin on my exposed hands.
Wind chill charts are the biggest pile of hocus pocus nonsense ever subjected to mankind.
Last edited by lh4x4; Jan 8, 2017 at 06:09 PM.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 5,456
Likes: 2,860
From: SW FL-Jersey Shore Emigre
A chilly 62 degress here in SW Florida this morning, cold enough that I put off my morning run until tomorrow. I should have taken a ride, but got up late and went truck shopping with the lady until martini time...
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 2,717
Likes: 273
From: Minnesota
Com`on up here for a week, I'll take you Ice fishing and let you sort out "wind index" data yourself
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 2,717
Likes: 273
From: Minnesota
First you need to use the premise that you can't make anything "cold", all you can do is remove heat.
Water in a bowl isn't exposed to wind, it's in a bowl. The surface water of the bowl is exposed but it's moving (because of the wind). Moving water doesn't have the same freeze rate as standing water.
Lakes don't freeze from the surface to the bottom, the Mississippi that starts here in Minn never fully freezes even at -50.
Now when it comes to the skin on your hands,, you need to find the amount of time it takes for 98dgree water to freeze in/at a 0 temp.
Then expose your hand to 35degree w/55 windchill for the same amount of time.
Frostbite is real.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 5,627
Likes: 1,382
From: Monroe, North Carolina
North Carolina Foot Hills / Piedmont Region
We saw 8 degrees last night. High today of 27.
Supposed to be down to 3 degrees tonight.
Had 7-8 inches of snow Saturday morning. It is not going anywhere soon. Where I scraped yesterday with the tractor is like a sheet of ice!
We saw 8 degrees last night. High today of 27.
Supposed to be down to 3 degrees tonight.
Had 7-8 inches of snow Saturday morning. It is not going anywhere soon. Where I scraped yesterday with the tractor is like a sheet of ice!
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Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 5,627
Likes: 1,382
From: Monroe, North Carolina
53 degrees living in Fl is like living in Alaska. Lived in Palm Beach over 20 years and remember it being a damp cold.
Tourer
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 494
Likes: 63
From: Bay Area, CA
The fallacy is that since it only applies to exposed skin it has no relevance to people who bundle up when going out in cold weather. The other fact missed by most is the lower wind chill amount is what one would guess accurately as the temperature with no wind.
I went for a 65 mile loop today and the air temp was 18 degrees. I dressed for 18 and had a very comfortable enjoyable ride. Wind chill my A--!. Had I dressed for what the phoney wind chill was I would have been uncomfortable and sweating bullets.
Look at the chart and when it is 35 degrees out and a 55 mile an hour wind place a bowl of water outside with the wind chill of zero degrees. Will the water freeze? No! because the temp is 35 degrees and neither will my skin on my exposed hands.
We feel the difference because of our natural body temperature. Again, notice that there is no wind chill effect at 98 degrees.
Your skin will not freeze if the temp is above 32F regardless of wind chill. It will freeze faster if the temp is under 32F based on wind chill, as you will lose heat faster. The water will not freeze at 35F no matter what the wind speed. The water will freeze faster at 20F if there is a wind, as the heat will dissipate faster.
Wind chill is the effect we feel due to the wind moving heat away from our bodies. It's why we feel cooler if a fan blows on us. The air is the same temperature as the rest of the room, but it cools us as it moves more heat away from our bodies.
If there was no wind chill, we wouldn't get hotter when we are stopped - we would feel heat the same whether sitting at a light or riding at 65MPH.