What Meteorologists Mean When Pinpointing Specific Wind Chill Readings

The latest blast of Arctic air also ushered in high winds that sent the wind chill readings plummeting. While many people throw the term "wind chill" around casually, meteorologists use this measurement to alert others about the dangers of the impending cold weather. Here is what you need to know about how wind chill values are measured and what you can do to protect yourself from various cold-weather dangers related to this element.

How is Wind Chill Measured?

Simply put, wind chill is the measurement of how cold the air feels when wind speeds are also taken into account. The easiest way to remember this is to correlate it to the "heat index" value in the summer, measuring the actual air temperature paired with the humidity levels.

Wind chill measures the rate at which exposed skin begins to lose heat as a result of the cold temperatures and the wind. The body naturally works to warm up the thin layer of air circulating above the skin during times of cold weather. This warming prevents the rapid loss of body heat.

However, the presence of wind filters that layer of insulation away from the body. The higher the winds, the faster that the warmth is carried away from the body and replaced with cold air. A dangerous cycle is born as the body works to counteract this loss by replacing the cold war with warmer air.

Meteorologists use a defined equation to calculate the true wind chill. The value is not just pulled out the air rather it uses a calculation involving the measured air temperatures and the recorded wind speed at any given time.

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