Wind Chill Calculator
Calculate how cold the air feels with wind speed taken into account.
Calculate how cold the air actually feels on exposed skin by combining air temperature with wind speed, using the standard North American wind chill formula.
How Wind Chill Calculator Works
Wind increases heat loss from exposed skin by stripping away the thin layer of warmer air that naturally surrounds your body, making cold air feel colder than the thermometer reading alone suggests.
The calculator uses the National Weather Service's wind chill formula: 35.74 + 0.6215T − 35.75(V^0.16) + 0.4275T(V^0.16), where T is air temperature in °F and V is wind speed in mph. This regression-based formula reflects modern research on how skin actually loses heat in windy, cold conditions.
The formula is only valid, and meaningful, for temperatures at or below 50°F and wind speeds above roughly 3 mph — outside that range, wind has little practical cooling effect on perceived temperature.
See It In Action
Who Uses Wind Chill Calculator and Why
- Checking how cold conditions will actually feel before heading outside for a winter run, hike, or outdoor work shift.
- Assessing frostbite risk for outdoor workers or athletes on a cold, windy day.
- Understanding a weather forecast's "feels like" temperature figure in cold conditions.
- Deciding how many layers to wear based on more than just the raw thermometer reading.
Mistakes to Avoid
- Using the calculator for a mild, calm day — the formula is only valid and meaningful for temperatures at or below about 50°F and wind speeds above roughly 3 mph; outside that range wind chill isn't a meaningful adjustment.
- Applying a wind chill result to a non-living object, like a car engine or exposed pipe — wind chill specifically describes how fast the human body loses heat and doesn't apply to inanimate objects, which just cool to the actual air temperature regardless of wind.
- Entering wind gust speed instead of sustained wind speed, which can overstate the chill effect compared to the more standard sustained-speed reading.
Tips for Best Results
- Treat a wind chill in the −18°F (−28°C) range or lower as a frostbite risk for exposed skin within about 30 minutes, per National Weather Service guidance — dress accordingly.
- Use sustained wind speed rather than gusts for a result that matches how forecasts typically report wind chill.
Fixing Common Problems
The calculator gives a result that seems off for a mild, low-wind day. — This is expected — the formula is only valid at or below about 50°F with wind speeds above roughly 3 mph; outside that range, the wind chill figure isn't meant to reflect a meaningful cooling effect.
Terms Explained
Wind chill: The temperature it feels like on exposed skin due to the combined effect of air temperature and wind speed stripping away the body's warm boundary layer of air.
National Weather Service wind chill formula: The regression-based formula 35.74 + 0.6215T − 35.75(V^0.16) + 0.4275T(V^0.16), using temperature in °F and wind speed in mph, developed from modern research on skin heat loss.