Baby, it's cold out there

Automotive writer Michael Bettencourt on location at the Ford testing centre in Thompson, Manitoba. Photo by Shel Zolkewich

Were you outside yesterday? I was. As I turned north on the top of a wide open ridge, two words came to mind. Wind and chill. The temperature was hovering at -10C but the howling north wind was making it feel closer to -25C. So why does the wind make it feel so much colder? Our friends at Environment Canada say that our bodies insulate us somewhat from the outside temperature by warming up a thin layer of air close to our skin, known as the boundary layer. When the wind blows, it takes this protective layer away and exposes our skin to the outside air. It takes energy for our bodies to warm up a new layer and if each one keeps getting blown away, our skin temperature will drop and we will feel colder.

For more wind chill facts, including when and why we changed from the uber-confusing Siple-Passel equation (remember when the wind chill was reported at 1,850?), visit
http://www.msc.ec.gc.ca/education/windchill/windchill_fact_sheet_aug_10_e.cfm
and bundle up out there.