Wind Chill Calculator
Wind Chill Calculator
This calculator estimates the temperature felt by the body as a result of wind speed and actual air temperature.
Wind Chill Result
Feels like:
Enter values above to calculate wind chill
What is wind chill?
In winter, the temperature felt by the body is typically lower than the actual air temperature. This is similar to the body feeling a higher temperature under high humidity conditions in the summer.
A surface, such as the skin on a person's body, loses heat through conduction, convection, and radiation. Although conduction and radiation are relevant to heat transfer, wind chill temperature is mostly a result of convection.
Convection is defined as heat transfer due to the bulk movement of molecules within fluids such as gases and liquids, such as wind. Essentially, as the air around a body moves, it disrupts the warm air surrounding the body, allowing cooler air to replace the warm air.
How to calculate wind chill
The perception of lower temperatures caused by wind led to the development of many different formulas that attempt to qualitatively predict the effect of wind on this perceived temperature.
This calculator uses the formula developed by the National Weather Service in the United States:
Wind Chill = 35.74 + 0.6215×T - 35.75×V0.16 + 0.4275×T×V0.16
where T is the actual air temperature in Fahrenheit, V is the wind speed in mph.
Frostbite
Frostbite can occur when skin or other tissue is exposed to low temperatures. Usually, the first signs of frostbite involve numbness, discoloration of the skin, and feeling cold, typically in the extremities of the body.
How quickly frostbite occurs
Frostbite is most likely to affect people who are exposed to low temperatures for long periods of time, such as those who participate in winter sports, work jobs that involve being outside in cold temperatures for extended periods of time, and those who are homeless.
| Temperature | Risk Level | Time to Frostbite |
|---|---|---|
| °F < -60°C | Extreme | Less than 2 minutes |
| -50°F to -75°F | Very High | 2-5 minutes |
| -15°F to -50°F | High | 5-30 minutes |
| 0°F to -15°F | Moderate | 30 minutes to 2 hours |
Hypothermia
Hypothermia occurs when the body dissipates more heat than it absorbs, leading to a reduction of body temperature. In humans, hypothermia is defined as a core temperature below 95.0°F (35.0°C). Symptoms can range from mild shivering to cardiac arrest.
Stages of Hypothermia
Mild hypothermia:
- Physiological responses to preserve body heat
- Shivering
- Increased heart rate and respiratory rate
- Mental confusion
Moderate hypothermia:
- Further mental confusion
- Amnesia
- Slurred speech
- Loss of fine motor skills and decreased reflexes
Severe hypothermia:
- Physiological systems start to fail
- Decreased heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure
- Paradoxical undressing
- Terminal burrowing behavior
Unit Information
This calculator supports multiple units for wind speed and temperature:
Wind Speed Units:
- mph - Miles per hour (US standard)
- km/h - Kilometers per hour (metric system)
- m/s - Meters per second (scientific measurement)
- knots - Nautical miles per hour (aviation and maritime)
Temperature Units:
- °F - Fahrenheit (US standard)
- °C - Celsius (metric system)
- K - Kelvin (scientific absolute temperature)
Note: The wind chill formula requires temperature in Fahrenheit and wind speed in mph. All inputs are automatically converted to these units for calculation, and the result is converted back to your selected temperature unit.