Knowing the wind chill is in fact an essential part of Canada’s weather forecasts, as it provides everyone with the knowledge they need in order to stay safe in our worst weather.
Makes sense - it’s friggin’ cold here like 4-5 months out of the year. The part that really blew my mind is that it only dates back to 2001. I was almost an adult then, and I don’t ever remember it not being a thing.
I do seem to remember the effect from before 2001. But why was it invented? I mean sometimes it’s kinda cool, but others it can be downright deadly. ;-)
How wind chill got its start. The concept of wind chill was developed by two U.S. researchers, Paul Siple and Charles Passel, based on tests they carried out during the U.S. Antarctic Service Expedition from 1939 to 1941.
I think they are meaning 2001 was when it was standardized internationally by Canada’s work on it. We definitely had windchill warnings when i was a kid in 80s and 90s, but not based on a standard measuring system
I remember am radio reporting windchills like this, when I was a child. “Today’s high is -26C with a windchill of 2200. This means frostbite in three minutes on exposed skin, so bundle up!” And my parents had a chart that converted windchill values to frostbite times.
Going further back, I remember when that watts per square metre (the 2200 in your weather report) was introduced as a replacement for whatever windchill calculations they were using before.
One thing many people I know get wrong about windchill is the effect on needing to plug in a vehicle’s block heater. If you normally are good down to -20C on a calm day, you’ll also be good down to -20C on a windy day, despite windchill being far below -20. The engine will cool faster, not farther.
No matter how fast the engine cools off, it still won’t get any colder than the actual air temperature. Of course, that also means that if you are good for 4 hours at -20C on a calm day, starting with a hot engine, then adding wind means you might only be good for 2-3 hours.
Glad you understand this, I feel validated. lol. I had an argument with my coworkers about this in the mid 90s. They said overnight -10 or like -30 with windchill so they were covering their engines with blankets. (No block heater) I tried to explain their cold engine is not producing heat, so -10 is all the engine will “Feel”, and the wind will not make the engine -30.
Yeah, the wind can never chill something below ambient temperature. It can only pull heat from the warmer object to the cooler object. If both are the same temperature, then there’s no transfer of heat. More wind only makes the transfer happen more quickly.
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Makes sense - it’s friggin’ cold here like 4-5 months out of the year. The part that really blew my mind is that it only dates back to 2001. I was almost an adult then, and I don’t ever remember it not being a thing.
Windchill wasn’t invented in 2001, just the new international standard.
I do seem to remember the effect from before 2001. But why was it invented? I mean sometimes it’s kinda cool, but others it can be downright deadly. ;-)
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/How-Wind-Chill-Got-Started-and-What-Its-Doing-US-Midwest%23:~:text%3DHow%2520wind%2520chill%2520got%2520its,Expedition%2520from%25201939%2520to%25201941.&ved=2ahUKEwiLsOjn6NqDAxVWIjQIHXFfCfcQFnoECAoQBQ&usg=AOvVaw2hN1NrUDjlHaHQlfedLtE2
Yee, gads, what a dirty link. Thanks for the impulse. I hope your day is cozy.
How Wind Chill Got Started–and What It’s Doing to the U.S. Midwest https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/How-Wind-Chill-Got-Started-and-What-Its-Doing-US-Midwest
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Antarctic_Service_Expedition
Measurements of Dry Atmospheric Cooling in Subfreezing Temperatures by Paul A. Siple and Charles F. Passel https://www.jstor.org/stable/985324#page_scan_tab_contents or https://sci-hub.se/https://www.jstor.org/stable/985324
Yeah, the link is gross as I was on my mobile. Thanks for the better link.
I think they are meaning 2001 was when it was standardized internationally by Canada’s work on it. We definitely had windchill warnings when i was a kid in 80s and 90s, but not based on a standard measuring system
Okay, thanks for that. I thought I was losing my mind.
I remember am radio reporting windchills like this, when I was a child. “Today’s high is -26C with a windchill of 2200. This means frostbite in three minutes on exposed skin, so bundle up!” And my parents had a chart that converted windchill values to frostbite times.
Going further back, I remember when that watts per square metre (the 2200 in your weather report) was introduced as a replacement for whatever windchill calculations they were using before.
One thing many people I know get wrong about windchill is the effect on needing to plug in a vehicle’s block heater. If you normally are good down to -20C on a calm day, you’ll also be good down to -20C on a windy day, despite windchill being far below -20. The engine will cool faster, not farther.
No matter how fast the engine cools off, it still won’t get any colder than the actual air temperature. Of course, that also means that if you are good for 4 hours at -20C on a calm day, starting with a hot engine, then adding wind means you might only be good for 2-3 hours.
Glad you understand this, I feel validated. lol. I had an argument with my coworkers about this in the mid 90s. They said overnight -10 or like -30 with windchill so they were covering their engines with blankets. (No block heater) I tried to explain their cold engine is not producing heat, so -10 is all the engine will “Feel”, and the wind will not make the engine -30.
Yeah, the wind can never chill something below ambient temperature. It can only pull heat from the warmer object to the cooler object. If both are the same temperature, then there’s no transfer of heat. More wind only makes the transfer happen more quickly.