ASK THE METEOROLOGIST
“Why does the wind make it cold?”
Ms. Cawthorne’s Class, Jewett Elementary
The two big components of wind chill are wind and body temperature. First of all, it’s important to remember there is a layer of air surrounding your body, and your own body heat helps to warm that layer of air. When the wind is calm, the layer of air stays fairly close to your body. However, when winds are gusty, it pushes that warmer air away from your body, so naturally you feel colder. This is because the colder air is touching your skin instead of that warmer layer of air.
There is a chart and an equation that takes both air temperature and wind speed into consideration to determine just how cold it feels outside. It feels colder the faster the wind is blowing, especially if the air temperature is already low.
Great question! If you have a weather question for the meteorologists, you can submit it here.
Chief Meteorologist Kate McKenna