FOX44 - Burlington / Plattsburgh News, Weather & Sports10.26.11 Winter Weather Awareness-Wind Chill

10.26.11 Winter Weather Awareness-Wind Chill

Today's topic is pretty straight forward and something many of us are familiar with (and most don't enjoy). The WIND CHILL factor.

"Wind chill" is the term given to describe the apparent temperature (or "feels like" temperature) on a cold and windy day.  Strong wind along with cold air temperatures can create a rapid cooling effect to exposed surfaces, including skin. Believe it or not, exposed skin in freeze in just minutes when the wind chill reaches 30 below zero or less. YIKES!  Check out this wind chill chart from NOAA to calculate the wind chill when you know the temperature and wind speed.

Frostbite and hypothermia are often related to wind chill. Frostbite can cause a loss of feeling and a white or pale appearance of the affected areas. Hypothermia develops when the body starts loosing more heat than it can produce.

So here's what you can do to protect yourself from the cold and wind.

-Dress for both temperature and wind. You should always keep your skin covered on a cold, windy day, including your face, hands, and feet. Use common sense when venturing out in cold and wind.

-Dress in layers! Any skier or snowboarder will tell you...its alllll about layers to stay warm. Wearing several thin, loose fitting layers to keep insulated. Many "1^st layer" pieces of ski clothing have fabric that wicks the moisture from your skin (fabric draws moisture away from skin to outer most layer of fabric). Might be a good investment to keep toasty warm, off and on the slopes.

-Remember, mittens protect your fingers better than gloves. Mittens allow less wind flow between fingers, instead it creates a warm insulated pocket.

Thanks again for checking back with our Sky Tracker Weather Blogs all this week to learn how to best prepare yourself for the elements of winter weather. Winter Weather Awareness Week is an educational campaign from your local National Weather Service, and local media (me!) :)

Tomorrow's topic: Winter Flooding and Ice Jams