Picture this: you’re getting ready for the day and check your phone to see what the weather will be like. Your weather app shows 58 degrees, so you throw on a light jacket and head out the door. By the time you reach the end of the block you’re hit in the face with a blast of wind and cold air. It feels more like 35 degrees.
What happened? You were provided with information for the temperature outside, but not how the air really feels – and many times these two phenomena can be very different.
“When it is cold, wind can make you feel colder because it removes heat from your body,” says Marshall Moss, vice president of Forecast Operations and Graphics at AccuWeather. “On colder days, the stronger the wind, the faster the heat is getting removed from your body, so it will feel colder outside.”
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So what should you do if you are looking for a more accurate reading of how the weather really feels? Check out apps that go further than just reporting the temperature.
As the only weather app to take both sunshine and wind into account when giving users information about how it really feels outside, the AccuWeather app features both AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature and RealFeel Shade right on the home screen. Calculated using more than a dozen different weather variables, this index can provide you with helpful information about how the air really feels — when both in and out of the shade. Plus, its RealFeel Temperature Guide details its meaning and impact to enhance safety and comfort as well as help consumers be prepared for extreme conditions.
For example, 9 to -10 degrees Fahrenheit ranks “quite cold” on the AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature Guide, warning individuals that frostbite can occur to exposed skin within just 15 minutes. Designed to show, at a glance, how the air really feels outside, the guide suggests what clothing and activities are best suited for different types of weather conditions throughout the year across all regions of the world. Importantly, it can also be used to evaluate what dangers may exist from extreme weather conditions. This can be an especially valuable tool in the fall and winter months when you are determining how best to bundle up and prepare for the day ahead.
On some days, sub-freezing temperatures could be predicted, but a lack of certain factors and an increase in others may cause the air to feel warmer. On other days, different factors can cause sub-freezing air temperatures to feel more than 10 degrees lower than what thermometers register, making them significantly more dangerous than would be expected based on temperature alone.
“When AccuWeather first introduced AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature, we knew we had invented something special that would become an industry standard,” says Moss. “Now users have access to forecasts of the RealFeel Temperature wherever they go, making it part of their regular routine to help them prepare.”
Using the latest tools, you can stay comfortable, safe and informed no matter what the weather is outside.
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