Weather Talk: Wind chill is simple, but regularly misused

WCI = 35.74 + 0.6215T - 35.75V+0.16 + 0.4275TV+0.16 where T is the air temperature in degrees Fahrenheit, V is the wind velocity in miles per hour. This awkward-looking equation is the formula for the wind chill Index. The numbers in the equation come from statistical analysis of experiments designed to equate the cooling effect on exposed human skin of temperature and wind combined and temperature alone. Unfortunately, this is a classic "apples to oranges" comparison. It is a fact that most people do not understand wind chill and regularly misuse it. Wind chill is useful because it quantifies the cooling effect of wind in a simple, easy-to-use way. But it is also unhelpful because it actually oversimplifies the reality and, in a way, glorifies cold weather by creating extremely low numbers for people to toss around casually. "I drove to Bismarck in 50 below wind chill." No, because unless you drove a convertible, there was no wind and no wind chill!