Well, Houston, we finally got a taste of real winter! And for the first time this season, we have to talk about wind chill.
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After an unusually warm December, the temperatures took a nosedive, dropping, below freezing on Monday and Tuesday morning. To top it off, those strong north winds made it feel even colder than what our thermometers might have shown.
How the wind chill came about:
Did you know the term “wind chill” dates back to 1939? A polar scientist named Paul Siple came up with it. Siple spent nearly a decade working in Antarctica. In his autobiography, he put it simply: “It becomes apparent to anyone subjected to cold, that a windy day feels much colder than a calm day.”
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Siple explained that wind chill isn’t about the actual temperature dropping — it’s all about how quickly the body loses heat. He and his colleague Charles Passel conducted experiments in the frigid Antarctic weather. They used plastic bottles filled with water and measured how quickly they froze in the icy, windy conditions. And that’s how the first wind chill values were born.
Wind Chill: It’s Real... and Not So Real:
Over the years, the wind chill calculation has been tweaked quite a bit, but in 2001, the National Weather Service landed on the chart you see below. The wind chill isn’t the actual temperature. It’s how cold it feels when you factor in the wind.
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Take the last two mornings in Houston, for example. Temperatures hovered around 30 degrees, but with a 10-mph wind, it felt more like 21 degrees. That’s downright uncomfortable!
The chart also shows how quickly frostbite can set in under certain conditions. The colder it gets and the stronger the wind, the faster frostbite becomes a real risk. Are those deep blue and purple zones on the chart? They always make me think of the movie Everest, and not in a cozy way!
The problem with wind chill:
Wind chill can be a bit dramatic — it’s not a true temperature but more of a “feels-like” number. And when you hear how it’s calculated, it gets even quirkier. Wind chill assumes you’re five feet tall, slightly overweight, and walking directly into the wind. It also factors in that it’s either completely overcast or nighttime. But here’s the kicker: it doesn’t account for sunlight, which can make it feel 10 to 15 degrees warmer.
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Some meteorologists are working on addressing these quirks by combining all possible factors into a universal weather index. But for now, that’s still in the works, so we’re stuck with the old-school wind chill formula.
A new alert for the United States:
If you’ve been watching us on TV the past few days, you might’ve noticed something new: a “Cold Weather Advisory.” It’s part of the National Weather Service’s effort to simplify their winter alerts. What used to be called a Wind Chill Advisory is now bundled under this new name, thanks to the Cold Weather Hazard Simplification program.
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In fact, a few familiar terms have been retired. Wind Chill Warnings, Wind Chill Advisories, and Hard Freeze Warnings have all been replaced by two streamlined alerts: Cold Weather Advisory and Extreme Cold Watch/Warning. It’s all about making it easier to understand what’s headed your way. I feel like the “cold weather” alert isn’t as urgent sounding as a wind chill alert. What do you think?
What this means for you:
Our bodies like to stay around 99 degrees. But when it gets cold and windy, that warmth can disappear fast.
The wind breaks up the heat our bodies naturally radiate, making us lose heat quickly.
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In Houston, It rarely gets cold and windy enough for our body temperature to fall to 95 degrees, that’s when hypothermia sets in. But a handful of days it is cold enough in Houston to mess with our plans.
While a low wind chill temperature won’t affect exposed pipes or plants, it’s a different story for our pets. If temperatures freeze and the winds start howling, make sure to bring your furry friends inside. Stay safe and keep warm.