Wind Chill Factor Chart
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 5,281
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From: Idaho Panhandle
Wind Chill is not about temperature. It is about the effectiveness of the atmosphere to remove heat from an object, in this case your bare skin.
A lower wind chill does not mean that the object will be cooled below the still air temperature, it merely states that heat will be lost as fast as the wind chill temperature until the air temperature is reached.
If you lose heat faster, it feels colder. If you cool faster to below freezing temperatures, your fingers will get frostbite faster. Once your fingers are frozen, they will not get colder than the air temperature.
Wind Chill charts are important to protect against Hypothermia as much as frostbite. It is as important to know your heat loss while riding at 50 F. When taking kids on wilderness adventures, I was far more aware of the dangers to them of hypothermia as when it was below freezing, everybody was bundled up then. But climbing from a wind prortected valley high onto mountain ridges, especially on bright sunny days, many of the teenagers felt they did not need to put on their windbreakers. They were the ones we had to stop and treat for early symptoms of hypothermia such as stumpling, less than conherent speech. Initially they would not believe that they had been victims of Wind Chill induced Hypothermia, it was 50F!.
A lower wind chill does not mean that the object will be cooled below the still air temperature, it merely states that heat will be lost as fast as the wind chill temperature until the air temperature is reached.
If you lose heat faster, it feels colder. If you cool faster to below freezing temperatures, your fingers will get frostbite faster. Once your fingers are frozen, they will not get colder than the air temperature.
Wind Chill charts are important to protect against Hypothermia as much as frostbite. It is as important to know your heat loss while riding at 50 F. When taking kids on wilderness adventures, I was far more aware of the dangers to them of hypothermia as when it was below freezing, everybody was bundled up then. But climbing from a wind prortected valley high onto mountain ridges, especially on bright sunny days, many of the teenagers felt they did not need to put on their windbreakers. They were the ones we had to stop and treat for early symptoms of hypothermia such as stumpling, less than conherent speech. Initially they would not believe that they had been victims of Wind Chill induced Hypothermia, it was 50F!.
Last edited by son of the hounds; Jan 16, 2013 at 12:43 PM.
Tourer
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 254
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From: S.E. PA
sorry, didnt mean to hi-jack the thread.
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