Click here to download/view a larger version, and click here for an online chill calculator.) So why bother with it? Because it can be useful to explain how quickly frostbite might set in, and to express a consistent idea of what the temp “feels like” outside, because of the rate of heat loss from exposed skin caused by the effects of wind and cold. As the wind increases, the body is cooled at a faster rate causing the skin temperature to drop. Wind Chill does not impact inanimate objects like car radiators and exposed water pipes, because these objects cannot cool below the actual air temperature. A “new” wind chill index was deployed in 2001. The original index was based on empirical data developed in 1939 by two Antarctic explorers and was long been thought by the meteorological community to have been too simplistic and to have overstated the overall cooling effects of the wind. To address this, the National Weather Service developed a model that made “use of advances in science, technology and computer modeling to provide a more accurate, understandable and useful” WCT. The key changes: *Making an adjustment for the calculated wind speed which is typically measured at 33 feet to reflect the wind at a “face level” of 5 feet. *Using a more up to date model of the human face. *Taking into account modern heat transfer theory for heat loss from the body to its surroundings. ]]>
Never miss me! Subscribe for free. My Huge Radar has real-time weather tracking, current temperatures, and severe weather watches and warnings. Get detailed Indiana conditions by clicking here. Click here to see my central Indiana 7-Day Forecast. Follow these links to get my forecasts for Lafayette, Muncie, Hendricks County, and Hamilton County. Need a second opinion? Click here for central Indiana National Weather Service forecasts. (Some charts via WeatherBELL.)