Get a grip! I wore my biggest, warmest, most politically incorrect fur coat yesterday to Peter Ciesla’s Bazyli Studio after hearing all sorts of warnings about how cold it was… gonna be, “Bitterly cold!” But, it was not yet… cold at all, and I roasted. “Wind chill 20 below zero,” the weatherman spouts. “High temperature in the single digits!” sprays the fearmonger.
“Wind chill is the apparent temperature felt on exposed skin,” says Wikipedia. That means NAKED. It will feel like 20 degrees below zero if you are outside walking around naked! So why not provide the “common-sense chill factor?”
A weatherman might say, “People wearing coats, scarves and hats, plus a warm pair of mittens instead of gloves will be warm as bunnies today. So, dress in layers and enjoy the beauty of this winter wonderland. Be sure to take a walk outdoors and breathe in the clean, fresh air. And don’t forget to enjoy the sunshine as the hours of daylight get a bit longer each day we move a bit closer to spring. Even though it will be somewhere between 5 and 10 degrees above, anyone who feels compelled to do a bit of nude sunbathing might think it’s 20 below zero, especially if they happen to stand motionless in the wind.”
Frozen Owen explains it as… “A much overused and misused measurement
“Wind chill factors are supposed to measure the effect of the combination of temperature and wind speed on human comfort. The windchill described here was developed around the time of World War II, partly to provide an easily calculated index for battlefield planning. It was used to determine risk factors when operating outdoors under various conditions, and gives a very rough idea (in easily understood terms) of potential problems caused by the combination of wind with cold. It is important to remember that these do not have the same effect on inanimate objects, or even on other animals or on plants. Nor is this effect felt by humans who are sheltered from the wind. There is nothing ‘exact’ about windchill: it is an approximation or estimate.”
So it’s here now. The big cold snap… 3 or 4 days of colder temperatures as the wind shifts into the northwest and starts to blow. The temperature drops 10 degrees to -1 in a few hours as the cloud cover blows away to reveal the brightest clear blue sky with a blazing (hot) sun. I think I will set up a wind screen out on the deck, strip bare and catch a few rays to increase my levels of the sunshine vitamin D. Be well!
