Inconsistencies in the "New" Windchill chart at low wind speeds

Avraham Shitzer*, Richard De Dear

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

An apparent error was detected in the calculation of windchill equivalent temperatures (WCETs) in the "new" chart and corresponding equation that were adopted in 2001 by the weather services in the United States and Canada. The problem is caused by significant discontinuities in WCETs at the assumed "calm" wind speed condition of 1.34 ms-1. As a result, published WCETs are not equal to, as they should be by definition, but are lower than air temperatures at the assumed calm wind speed condition. This inconsistency further propagates to higher wind speeds beyond the assumed calm condition. In this paper, a straightforward correction is proposed to circumvent these inconsistencies of the new windchill. The proposed correction makes this transition gradual rather than abrupt by applying it to the expression used for estimating the effects of wind on the convective heat exchange coefficient between humans and their cold and windy environment.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)787-791
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology
Volume45
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2006

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