Wind chill

**Mom** · 7th September 2009, 19:59

Wind chill is something we hear about, sometimes we even read about it. For a few of us we have experienced it. Dangerous stuff!

I see the weather that tells me the temperature is 6 degrees/feels like 2 degrees warnings. I have experienced the chill that goes beyond a shiver. The slow quiver, that dulls your ability to think clearly, and makes you unable to string a decent sentence together is no fun, and quite deadly if not corrected.

So what is wind chill exactly? Obviously travelling at speed creates a wind chill factor.

How do you work it out? Just because you are baking (read sweating) in the sun wearing thermals and all the lined gear does not prevent you from freezing and then some riding home after the sun has set.

What is wind chill?

How dangerous is it?

**AllanB** · 7th September 2009, 20:05

It's bad stuff alright.

And riding faster to get home quicker

only makes it worse........

The old newspaper stuffed down your chest can starve it off a bit.

**Mom** · 7th September 2009, 20:11

Originally Posted by AllanB

It's bad stuff alright.

And riding faster to get home quicker

only makes it worse........

The old newspaper stuffed down your chest can starve it off a bit.

Yeah, I know, I am not above becoming a rustling lump of warmish newspaper if I have to, but how does it work? How do you work it out?

I have ridden in cold before, you dress for it, your finger tips freeze (yes, yes heated grips, I hear you loud and clear) your toes are so numb, you have to kick them against the kurb to return blood flow kind of cold.

Wind chill, how big a difference does it make to the actual temp? A big one obviously.

**psycho22** · 7th September 2009, 20:16

If in doubt look at wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_chill

**Mom** · 7th September 2009, 20:19

Thanks for that, I wonder why I did not think of it myself really

**psycho22** · 7th September 2009, 20:22

Well I was kinda wondering why you didn't think of that or at least google but i didn't want to be a smart arse....That and I couldn't remember the exact definition

**Katman** · 7th September 2009, 20:26

Is riding at 100kph into no wind the same as standing still in a 100kph wind?

**Mom** · 7th September 2009, 20:28

Originally Posted by psycho22

Well I was kinda wondering why you didn't think of that or at least google but i didn't want to be a smart arse....That and I couldn't remember the exact definition

Oh, well there goes that attempt to get others thinking about wind chill and how it might affect them I guess. They should know to simply wiki it.

Perhaps you could actually explain for those that dont bother to follow the link how it actually works?

**Edbear** · 7th September 2009, 20:31

Originally Posted by Mom

Thanks for that, I wonder why I did not think of it myself really

Dasokay, we understand.

Bein' both female and blonde...

**psycho22** · 7th September 2009, 20:32

Can't be farked really so I will just copy and paste for those to lazy to click a button.

Wind chill is the apparent temperature felt on exposed skin due to wind. The degree of this phenomenon depends on both air temperature and wind speed. The wind chill temperature (often popularly called the wind chill factor) is always lower than the air temperature for values where the wind chill formula is valid. In cases where the apparent temperature is higher than the air temperature, the heat index is used instead.

Explanation

The human body loses heat largely by evaporative cooling and convection[1][2]. The rate of heat loss by a surface depends on the wind speed above that surface: the faster the wind speed, the more readily the surface cools. For inanimate objects, the effect of wind chill is to reduce any warmer objects to the ambient temperature more quickly. For most biological organisms, the physiological response is to maintain surface temperature in an acceptable range so as to avoid adverse effects. Thus, the attempt to maintain a given surface temperature in an environment of faster heat loss results in both the perception of lower temperatures and an actual greater heat loss increasing the risk to adverse effects such as frostbite and death.

As to Katmans question I would hazard a guess as to yes it would be roughly the same

**Mom** · 7th September 2009, 20:34

Originally Posted by psycho22

Can't be farked really so I will just copy and paste for those to lazy to click a button.

Wind chill is the apparent temperature felt on exposed skin due to wind. The degree of this phenomenon depends on both air temperature and wind speed. The wind chill temperature (often popularly called the wind chill factor) is always lower than the air temperature for values where the wind chill formula is valid. In cases where the apparent temperature is higher than the air temperature, the heat index is used instead.

Explanation

The human body loses heat largely by evaporative cooling and convection[1][2]. The rate of heat loss by a surface depends on the wind speed above that surface: the faster the wind speed, the more readily the surface cools. For inanimate objects, the effect of wind chill is to reduce any warmer objects to the ambient temperature more quickly. For most biological organisms, the physiological response is to maintain surface temperature in an acceptable range so as to avoid adverse effects. Thus, the attempt to maintain a given surface temperature in an environment of faster heat loss results in both the perception of lower temperatures and an actual greater heat loss increasing the risk to adverse effects such as frostbite and death.

As to Katmans question I would hazard a guess as to yes it would be roughly the same

Thanks for that, as clear as mud really. So if I am travelling at 100 kph and the air temp is 10 degrees celcius, what is the wind chill factor?