The White Falcon - 25.10.2002, Síða 8

Understanding the weather...Wind Chill
white, pale skin appearance. If you experi- the effects of Wind Chill? Stay inside during
Lt. Cmdr. James Tannaltill
With an average winter temperature of 32°
Fahrenheit (0° Celsius) and a record low
temperature of -4°F (-20° C), winter in
Keflavik doesn’t sound so bad. To someone
who has lived through a winter here, the
response is simple: It’s the wind! With an
outside air temperature of 32°F combined
with an average winter wind speed of 16
knots (18 mph), the Average Wind Chill tem-
perature is 21°F! (1 knot = 1.1 mile per
hour)
What is Wind Chill temperature? That’s
how cold it “feels” outside to a person and is
based on the rate of heat loss from skin
exposed to the wind. Higher wind speeds
remove heat more quickly and skin tempera-
ture drops. Wind Chill doesn’t really affect
your car or your water pipes because they
cannot cool below the outside air tempera-
ture. Higher wind speeds will only cause
things to cool to the outside air temperature
more quickly.
Why should you care about Wind Chill?
The Wind Chill Chart (https://www.nlmod-
keflavik.navy.mil, Climatology Page under
Tables) shows areas of expected Frost Bite
for 30, 5 and one minute(s) of exposure. If
the outside air temperature is 0° F (-18°C)
with 18 knots of wind, you have a maximum
of 30 minutes until frost bite occurs.
What is Frost Bite? Frost Bite is a frozen
body temperature injury, with the extremities
(fingers, toes, ears and nose) being most vul-
nerable. Symptoms are loss of feeling and a
ence these symptoms call medical immedi-
ately!
The Naval Atlantic Meteorology and
Oceanography Detachment posts Wind Chill
temperature on the Channel 13 scroller
whenever temperature drops to 32°F or
below. NLMOD posts Wind Chill
Advisories when Wind Chill Temperature is
between -11° and -31°F (-24°C to -35°C,
Wind Chill 2, magenta) and less than -31°F
(-35°C, Wind Chill 1, red) on Channel 13
and 18/35.
How do you guard against frostbite and
high wind and cold when possible. If you
must go outside, wear a hat and layers of
loose fitting, warm clothing with an outer,
hooded wind/waterproof layer. Cover your
mouth to protect your lungs from extreme
cold and remember mittens are warmer than
gloves.
In November 2001, the National Weather
Service adopted a new wind chill standard
based on the research from numerous aca-
demic and government institutions. Check
out their Wind Chill website at
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/windchill/.
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Page 12
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October 25, 2002
The White Falcon