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Post by massiveshibe on Jul 5, 2023 15:41:16 GMT -5
I went to a nearby coastal village last summer and I had a conversation with a local. She said that 10 degrees is cold. I replied that 10 degrees is mild and told her that in the city I live, the temperature frequently drops below 0C during winter. She then argued that it feels colder in the coast because the cold there is humid. I have been to the beach during winter, and 10 degrees didn't feel any different than it usually feels where I live.
For context, I live at 1200m above sea level, the temperature difference between where I live and the coast at the same latitude is about 10C. The humidity during winter is just 10% higher on the coast, I don't think it's enough to make a difference.
I usually feel colder during rainy days, but that is more likely due to the lack of sun. During the night, I don't feel any difference between dry and humid cold at the same temperature.
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Post by 🖕🏿Mörön🖕🏿 on Jul 5, 2023 15:46:00 GMT -5
High Angler
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Post by Benfxmth on Jul 5, 2023 15:56:03 GMT -5
Yes. Humid cold (however negligible water content there is in moderately cold temps in the 30s/40s) causes clothing, especially cotton, to absorb moisture, thus making you feel colder than dry cold at the same temp all else equal. The effect is highly exaggerated by many though, acting like -30°F in the Calgoids feels warmer than +40°F in the UK.
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Post by massiveshibe on Jul 5, 2023 17:00:28 GMT -5
The effect is highly exaggerated by many though, acting like -30°F in the Calgoids feels warmer than +40°F in the UK. I’ve heard that the humid 20F of Toronto feels colder than the dry -20F of Calgary. Seems a little exaggerated to me but I still wonder if that’s true. If that’s true, imagine what -20F would feel like in Toronto. I’ve even saw someone on city data who said that winters in coastal Antarctica feel colder than inland Antarctica because of the high humidity. |
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Post by desiccatedi85 on Jul 5, 2023 17:06:43 GMT -5
I'm going against the grain here. To me, humid cold feels milder and far more tolerable than dry cold. Assuming no sun, for example, a humid 30ºF feels much milder than a dry 30ºF, though of course with those temps and low solar angles, the sun barely does anything for a feeling of warmth. Cold works the same way as heat. The higher the relative humidity at any given temperature, the warmer it will feel when compared to a low relative humidity.
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Post by tommyFL on Jul 5, 2023 17:14:25 GMT -5
I'm going against the grain here. To me, humid cold feels milder and far more tolerable than dry cold. Assuming no sun, for example, a humid 30ºF feels much milder than a dry 30ºF, though of course with those temps and low solar angles, the sun barely does anything for a feeling of warmth. Cold works the same way as heat. The higher the relative humidity at any given temperature, the warmer it will feel when compared to a low relative humidity. Higher humidity feeling hotter in warm temps (for some people) is due to the reduced evaporation rate of sweat. How exactly does that apply here? |
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Post by tommyFL on Jul 5, 2023 17:23:31 GMT -5
As for humid vs dry cold, it depends what you mean by cold. For near-freezing temps or below, the moisture content of the air is rather negligible either way so not a whole lot of difference between humid and dry air assuming equal wind speed/solar radiation/etc.
However, for milder temperatures that are still on the cool side of ideal (~45-65 F), humidity can definitely make it feel colder due to the non-negligible higher heat capacity of humid air at these temps. I definitely feel chillier on mornings with near-saturated conditions than I do on mornings with the same temp and lower humidity. This is a main factor why the "cool" nights in dry climates with large diurnals don't feel refreshing to me, they just feel a lot warmer than you'd expect because of the reduced cooling capacity of the dry air.
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Post by massiveshibe on Jul 5, 2023 17:45:50 GMT -5
As for humid vs dry cold, it depends what you mean by cold. For near-freezing temps or below, the moisture content of the air is rather negligible either way so not a whole lot of difference between humid and dry air assuming equal wind speed/solar radiation/etc. However, for milder temperatures that are still on the cool side of ideal (~45-65 F), humidity can definitely make it feel colder due to the non-negligible higher heat capacity of humid air at these temps. I definitely feel chillier on mornings with near-saturated conditions than I do on mornings with the same temp and lower humidity. This is a main factor why the "cool" nights in dry climates with large diurnals don't feel refreshing to me, they just feel a lot warmer than you'd expect because of the reduced cooling capacity of the dry air. 45F-65F is not even cold. In fact, in my experience, 45F+ temperatures always feel hotter to me with higher humidity. Also in my own personal experience, 32F is when the pattern starts to reverse, if it’s sub freezing, the higher the humidity, the colder I feel, but it feels like a fake cold. Humid sub freezing cold gives me chills but it doesn’t change my body temperature, while dry sub freezing cold doesn’t give me chills but it makes my hands and feet get cold. It’s as if humid cold makes me feel colder but dry cold makes me lose more heat. |
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Post by desiccatedi85 on Jul 5, 2023 18:00:09 GMT -5
I'm going against the grain here. To me, humid cold feels milder and far more tolerable than dry cold. Assuming no sun, for example, a humid 30ºF feels much milder than a dry 30ºF, though of course with those temps and low solar angles, the sun barely does anything for a feeling of warmth. Cold works the same way as heat. The higher the relative humidity at any given temperature, the warmer it will feel when compared to a low relative humidity. Higher humidity feeling hotter in warm temps (for some people) is due to the reduced evaporation rate of sweat. How exactly does that apply here? Dry cold just has a lot more bite to it. Not a scientific explanation in any way, but it burns the lungs and just feels horribly icky in a way that humid cold never would, drying out the skin and turning the lips chapped. Nice cold mist feels very soothing in comparison. In a cold mist, it feels like the cold is much more evenly distributed across my body than with a dry cold, where exposed skin has a much greater sting.
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Post by Ethereal on Jul 7, 2023 9:08:47 GMT -5
I can't speak for subzero conditions because I haven't experienced them.
But here, a humid 14C is more warmer than a dry 14C. But then again, when it's dry cold it's usually windy, so maybe that adds to the chilliness. Btw, a 1C morning with a RH of 95% felt more "warm" to me than a gusty 13C with RH below 40%.
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Post by Steelernation on Jul 7, 2023 14:20:43 GMT -5
Humid cold feels nicer, dry cold is shitty and pointless except for the rare extremely cold day
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Post by cawfeefan on Jun 13, 2024 9:04:22 GMT -5
Curious to hear more opinions about this since Weatherzone mentioned in an article that humidity makes it feel less cold than dry air. I do agree with their assessment of the weather here today though, since it was chilly but there wasn't a bite to it. It was more of a refreshing, soothing feeling. But then again, many of you might not regard 10C/50F as 'cold' anyway. The article for reference: www.weatherzone.com.au/news/melbourne-having-coldest-day-in-5-years/1889526 |
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Post by MET on Jun 13, 2024 9:07:37 GMT -5
I don't feel that there's much difference. The actual weather conditions such as wind, rain and cloud cover make the largest difference.
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Post by Moron on Jun 13, 2024 21:43:11 GMT -5
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