The Wind-Chill Chart anticipates Frostbite

A Steamboat Springs dermatologist was heard to comment that the two groups of people who kept her in business were the skier and the rancher; both spent a lot of time in the outdoors without benefit of sunscreen or reapplying sunscreen. The end result is that she spends lots of time treating members of both groups for sun damage and skin cancer. Because both groups spend so much time outdoors in spite of the weather conditions, sun damage and skin cancer are not the only issues that they have in common. During the winter must deal with the issue of Frostbite.
In cold climates like Colorado, wind chill has a great impact on agriculture. The producer doesn’t have a choice of going out; the livestock needs tended to no matter what the weather conditions. The wind chill factor (the measure of apparent temperature vs measured temperature) determines a number of things: how many layers to put on, how much to feed, where to keep the animals. A knowledge and understanding of the wind-chill chart is extremely important, especially since the index was updated in 2001.
The wind-chill chart was first developed in the 1940’s with a couple of Antarctic explorers who conducted experiments to show how long it took water to freeze under specific conditions. They noticed that the time changed according to three variables: the temperature of the water, the outside air temperature, and the wind speed. It was from these experiments that the first wind-chill chart was developed.
In the 1960’s the chart was revised; but the chart developed in 2001 is more accurate. Thanks to volunteers who spent time in a wind tunnel having their skin temperature measured as wind speed changed the new chart measures not only wind chill but also predicts the risk of frostbite to the skin in five, ten, or thirty minutes. The revised wind-chill chart does more than deliver the bad news about the cold; it also illustrates the risk of developing frostbite due to the cold temperatures.