why do hurricanes and tornadoes feel cold?

916 views

So I’ve learned that warm and cold air are one of the essential recipes for tornadoes and hurricanes. However, why does it feel cold if it’s a mixture of both warm and cold?

In: 3

12 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

I think the actual point of the question was missed by the other answers – if I understand correctly OP is asking why the wind makes you feel cold even with “warm” air.

The answer is that your body warms up a thin layer of air around you. In still air, this layer can hang around and insulate you from the relatively colder ambient atmospheric air. With wind present, this warm air gets blown away immediately so you lose body heat faster and thus feel colder, even if the temperature is the same. Introducing fresh dry air also lets sweat evaporate faster, cooling you even more. Introducing fresh *wet* air, as long as it’s below your skin body temperature, will feel even colder than that, since the water will sap heat from your skin, especially if it also has precipitation that fell from higher, colder altitudes.

Also remember that “cold” and “warm” are relative terms here, especially related to atmospheric processes.

You are viewing 1 out of 12 answers, click here to view all answers.