Story Published:
Dec 13, 2007 at 4:01 PM CDT
Story Updated:
Dec 13, 2007 at 4:01 PM CDT
The wind chill is the effect of the wind on people and animals. The wind chill temperature is based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin caused by wind and cold and is to give you an approximation of how cold the air feels on your body.
As the wind increases, it removes heat from the body, driving down skin temperature and eventually the internal body temperature. Therefore, the wind makes it FEEL much colder. If the temperature is 0°F (-18°C) and the wind is blowing at 15 mph (13 kts), the wind chill temperature is -19°F (-28°C). At this level, exposed skin can freeze in just a few minutes.
The only effect wind chill has on inanimate objects, such as car radiators and water pipes, is to shorten the amount of time for the object to cool.
The inanimate object will not cool below the actual air temperature. For example, if the temperature outside is -5°F (-21°C) and the wind chill temperature is -31°F (-35°C), then your car's radiator temperature will be no lower than the air temperature of -5°F (-21°C).