British Columbia·Video

Why does wind chill make you feel colder?

Almost every winter forecast tells us that whatever the temperature is, it's going to feel colder because of the wind. But how exactly does that work?

Johanna Wagstaffe answers your questions in Science Smart, a new weekly video column

What is the wind chill factor?

11 years ago
Duration 2:11
Heavy wind removes the thin layer of warm air close to our skin

Wind chill is a fact of winter life for most Canadians.

Almost every winter forecast tells us that whatever the temperature is, it's going to feel colder because of the wind. But how exactly does that work?

Johanna Wagstaffe takes a look at the science behind wind chills, how the body reacts to winds and how the wind chill factor values are calculated, in this week's Science Smart video, in the player above.

If you have a science question you'd like answered, send Johanna a tweet (@Jwagstaffe) or an email: johanna.wagstaffe@cbc.ca.