That windchill index

[question everything]

I remember in the 70s and 80s there would be windchill Indices of 60 and 80 below zero.

When I got my diploma from the University of Chicago in December 1977 it was 60 below. Had to have my pictures taken indoor. The camera would freeze, my friend complained.

But some years ago I've heard that the calculations were changed so what used to be 60 below would now be "warmer." So it is interesting that we are talking now on the "new" 50 below.

No mail tomorrow. I was thinking about the poor carriers driving with their windows open, and I am not sure how stable these vehicles are with such ferocious winds.

And I think that many businesses closed early.

What can I say, I am glad that, as retirees we can just stay home. Even the animals - squirrels, bunnies - are hiding. The birds, though, are brave.

48 more hours?

[Atman]

1. Windchill has no effect on inanimate objects.

Just sayin'.

[question everything]

2. How about just cold weather?

And he probably was talking about the film. Yes, the old cameras.

[LakeSuperiorView]

5. They do, but it usually doesn't matter how quickly they cool down.

They won't get colder than the actual temp, but they will cool down quicker.

[Ohiogal]

3. I was watching the birds at our feeders.

We’ve been vigilant about keeping them full ever since it got cold. Poor things, at least there are some evergreen bushes near the house where they can get out of the wind.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

13. I filled up the feeders yesterday and the birds are on them,

puffed up to the size of tennis balls. Must be tough to be a bird in this weather but they manage.

[LakeSuperiorView]

4. The original calculations were based on how quckly bags of water would freeze,

if I recall correctly, 10 feet off the ground. When redone at human heights, the numbers came out higher. Humans don't spend much time 10 feet off the ground.

And inanimate objects do feel wind chill, but in most cases, it doesn't matter how quickly they cool down.

[3catwoman3]

6. -7 right now in my far northwest Chicago, with a windchill...

...of -29.

By 7 AM, it will be -25. The pediatric office where I work is going to be closed tomorrow. I’ve been at this practice for 22 years, and we next-to-never close.

[mucifer]

8. I'm a pediatric hospice nurse in Chicago. We are on "code white" tomorrow which means

check patients by phone don't do routine visits only urgent visits. I actually have the day off.

[3catwoman3]

9. I have only

...the greatest of admiration for those who work in hospice. I could not do it.

My favorite thing over my almost 43 years as an NP is first time parents of brand new babies - I would do well baby visits all day long if I could.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. The National Weather Service changed the formula in 2001.

On November 1, 2001 the National Weather Service will implement a "new and improved" wind chill temperature (WCT). The original index was based on empirical data developed in 1939 by Antarctic explorers Siple and Passel and has long been thought by the meteorological community to have been too simplistic and to have overstated the overall cooling effects of the wind. To address this, the National Weather Service has developed a more modern model that makes "use of advances in science, technology and computer modeling to provide a more accurate, understandable and useful" WCT. Some of the key changes in the new Wind Chill Index will include:
-making an adjustment for the calculated wind speed which is typically measured at 33 feet (i.e., 10 meters) to reflect the wind at a "face level" of 5 feet.
-using a more up to date model of the human face.
-taking into account modern heat transfer theory for heat loss from the body to its surroundings;
-lowering the calm wind threshold from 4 mph to to 3 mph.
In 2002 a further adjustment is planned to account for the affects of solar radiation due to cloudy, partly cloudy or clear skies.

https://www.ggweather.com/windchill.htm

Once it gets below about -15 it's just fucking cold.

[question everything]

12. Thanks, interesting

It determined whether, when I go out to feel the bird feeders and add water for the heated dish, I need to just throw a vest, or but the heavy coat.

Will be close to 40 Saturday. Won't surprise me to see many with shorts and T-shirts..

[dragonlady]

10. Outdoor work of any kind will be horrible at these temperatures

The door-to-door mail carriers would be in even more danger. Everyone who needs to be out there deserves our sympathy and thanks.

[Scruffy1]

11. Those that have to do it are prepared.

Letter carriers here in sunny Minnesota will go about their business as usual. When I was a lot younger I often worked in sub-zeo temps. Not saying I like it, but if you have the right gear you can handle it. I think it's actually tougher for people in warmer climes because they don't have the gear. I remember my brother in law telling me how nobody in Florida would show up for work at the job site when it got close to freezing. The stores didn't even sell gloves and other normal winter dress.