Meteorologist Jeff Smith takes a closer look at wind chill and its toll on your health

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Tuesday, December 12, 2017
wind chill
What is wind chill and why is it so dangerous? Meteorologist Jeff Smith explains.

Watch out for dangerous wind chill. You know it's cold, but you can't determine just how cold by look at with the temperatures alone.

**Watch video in above player for Jeff Smith's explainer on wind chill**

When you factor in the wind it can feel a lot colder! That;s known as wind chill, and it's the apparent temperature that we feel when we step outside on a cold, windy day.

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For instance, if the temperature is 30 degrees, but we add in a 30mph wind, all the sudden it feels more like 15 degrees!

When wind chills drop down to -20 or lower, we enter the "danger zone."

Exposed skin can freeze within 30 minutes.

When the wind chill dips to -30 or lower, frostbite can set in within 10 minutes, potentially causing permanent damage to tissue.

**See chart below to see how much wind chill can impact the real feel temperature**

Wind chill table

Be safe, bundle up and we'll alert you to any potentially dangerous wind chills in the Accuweather Forecast all winter long!

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