Wet bulb temperature is how temperature feels to a living being. As others have pointed out it has to do with humidity.
For example you are walking in downtown Seattle, it’s raining (100% humidity) and it’s 33 degrees F (just above freezing). You are miserable. People claim the cold “gets in your bones”. All that water is sucking the energy from your body in the form of heat.
Now you’re walking around in Saskatoon or any other bone dry Canadian prairie city and it’s 33 degrees F (AKA 0.5 degrees C). You’re wearing a sweater with a wind breaker and feeling pretty comfortable. It’s because you are well insulated against the cold air as there is very little water floating around stealing your energy. That’s why people say, “oh it’s fine, it’s a dry cold”
Same dry bulbs temps, very different wet bulb temps.
Wind can cause temps to feel different as well. Last January we had a day that was -27 but “felt like” -43. When I hear this I automatically know this means it’s way too cold to be wet out but so windy that it’s gonna hurt
When I lived in Seattle, in winter I pretty much just felt cold all the time regardless of temp
Latest Answers