I feel dumb but… how is the weather not just automatically what it ‘feels like’? Or how does outside not ‘feel like’ the actual weather? Also who is the God that determines the number that the weather feels like? Because it can be different for everyone. Hope you guys understand my drift, i’m confusing myself the more i think about it.
In: 4
Say it’s a cold day but the sun is out, and there’s no clouds or wind. The actual temperature may be high fifties, but being in the sun it might feel warmer- more like the mid sixties.
The inverse is also applicable. It could be in the mid fifties but it’s cloudy and there’s a breeze- it’s going to feel colder than it actually is because of the varied conditions. The “feels like” number is just a guesstimate based on what we know certain temperatures to feel like
The temperature is the temperature, it’s an objectively measured data point.
But the “feels like” number is figured out by factoring in other variables like relative humidity and wind conditions.
When it’s particularly dry and windy, the air feels much colder than it actually is, and when the humidity is very high and there’s no breeze the air feels suffocatingly hot.
Weather people have just managed to figure out a clever way to relate the different combinations of factors into a simple and useful number for us normal people to use.
Humidity and wind change how it feels. 40 degrees Fahrenheit will feel much colder with a strong wind than if no wind at all.
Also 80 degrees Fahrenheit will feel much warmer with high humidity and no wind than with a lower humidity and stronger winds
Our bodies naturally lose heat, especially when it’s windy. This means if it’s hot and windy we’ll cool down quickly, but if it’s cold and windy we’ll feel extra cold. Thermometers don’t lose heat like humans, they just measure the temperature. The “feels like” temperature is factoring the temperature, plus how factors like the wind make us feel.
The way that you feel temperature is dependent on the rate of heat transfer between your body and the environment; you don’t feel actual temperature differences, but instead you feel the rate of heat leaving or entering your body, which your brain then interprets as temperature. This is also why things like metal or water at room temperature will feel colder than the air; the rate of heat transfer from your body into those things will be higher than into the air, thus you feel that it’s cooler despite the fact that its all at the same temperature.
“Feels like” temperatures are a temperature correction for outside weather conditions, particularly wind and humidity. 32F/0C with a stiff breeze will feel a lot colder than 32F/0C with no wind. The “Feels like” temperature itself is just calculated.
Local news started doing this 20+ years ago to shock people. Hey it’s 41 degrees out but it FEELS LIKE -10!!!!!
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