Road
Conditions
Flu Reports
Airport
Delays
School
Closings
Snowmobile/Skiing
Safety
--Before The Storm
--Keep Informed
--If you get Caught
--Winter Dangers
--Windchill |
Windchill
Calculator and Conversion Charts
The windchill factor is a
rate of cooling based on the combined effects of wind and low temperature. In other words
it will indicate how fast a human body will cool under certain combinations of wind and
temperature. Windchill will cause it to cool more quickly towards this temperature. The
real hazard with windchill is that heat will be drawn away from your skin faster than the
body can replace it. This may lead to frostbite or worse.
The windchill calculator and charts below is based on the new North
American standards that were released in the summer of 2001 and will be
used North America wide.
Try this little JavaScript
program I created for windchill. If you don't have a Java-based browser, go to the
chart for static measurements.
This
is a basic windchill chart that can be used for quick reference of temperatures you are
experiencing. The numbers are color coded to match what Windchill is a difficult thing to find and many formulas can be
used. If there is some differences between 2 charts, they will be very minor.
|
Air Temperature (癈) |
Wind
Speed
(Km/h) |
|
0 |
-5 |
-10 |
-15 |
-20 |
-25 |
-30 |
-35 |
-40 |
-45 |
| 10 |
-3 |
-9 |
-15 |
-21 |
-27 |
-33 |
-39 |
-45 |
-51 |
-57 |
| 20 |
-5 |
-12 |
-18 |
-24 |
-31 |
-37 |
-43 |
-49 |
-56 |
-62 |
| 30 |
-7 |
-13 |
-20 |
-26 |
-33 |
-39 |
-46 |
-52 |
-59 |
-65 |
| 40 |
-7 |
-14 |
-21 |
-27 |
-34 |
-41 |
-48 |
-54 |
-61 |
-68 |
| 50 |
-8 |
-15 |
-22 |
-29 |
-35 |
-42 |
-49 |
-56 |
-63 |
-70 |
| 60 |
-9 |
-16 |
-23 |
-30 |
-37 |
-43 |
-50 |
-57 |
-64 |
-71 |
Color coding to match windchill factors issued by Environment
Canada
|
Windchill (C) |
Qualifier |
Comfort and/or precautions description |
|
0 to -10 |
Low |
Conditions are slightly uncomfortable for outdoor activity. Dress Warmly.
Winter clothing is recommended, including hat, gloves and dry insulating under clothing. |
|
-10 to -25 |
Moderate |
Cold on exposed skin. Conditions can be comfortable for outdoor
activity on sunny days. Hat, gloves and layered dry insulating clothing is a necessity.
Risk of hypothermia over prolonged periods. |
|
-25 to -45 |
Cold |
Important to keep active. Cover all skin. Take frequent warm up
breaks. Frostbite is possible on exposed skin over short periods of time so check
frequently. Risk of hypothermia over prolonged periods. |
-45 to -59
Warning Level* |
Extreme |
Very uncomfortable. Outdoor activity should be limited to short
periods. Cover all exposed skin. Dress in layers. Limit outdoor
activities to short periods. Exposed skin freezes in minutes. Serious
risk of hypothermia over prolonged periods. |
|
-60 and colder |
Very Extreme |
Outdoor conditions are
hazardous. Exposed skin will freeze in 2 minutes. Stay indoors. |
| * In
Ontario/Atlantic provinces, the warning level is -35 C. In most areas of
Canada, the warning level is -45 C. In northern Quebec, Manitoba,
Labrador and the Arctic, the warning level is -50 C. In the high Arctic,
the warning level is -55 C. This is due to human adaptability to cold
over time. |
|
