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The phenomenon of feeling colder due to wind or breeze is called "wind-chill factor." This is why we use electric fans in the Summer, even though they do not actually lower the temperature of the room. Although wind-chill factor is something of an illusion, scientists do have a way of measuring it.
Wiki User
∙ 10y ago
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoUnderstanding this phenomenon requires us to take a couple steps back.
How Wind Works
The earth's atmosphere is full of air, which behaves like any other gas. If you increase the pressure in one part of a container of gas, the molecules will move to areas of lower pressure until the pressure evens out across the container. Likewise, if you lower the pressure in one part of the container, gas will flow into that part, causing the temperature to even out once again.
In this case, the container is the atmosphere, and the pressure is measured with a metric called "Barometric Pressure". Wind is caused by air moving from parts of the atmosphere with higher pressure to parts of the atmosphere with lower pressure, in a natural effort to reach equilibrium.
Where there are greater differences in barometric pressure, the wind speed is greater, since more air has to flow to equalize the pressure.
How High and Low Pressure Work
Imagine the earth's atmosphere as being divided into layers (in a sense, it is). When the layer nearest the earth is heated up (like from a particularly warm body of water or patch of land), that layer expands, causing the layers above it to shrink. As the air far above the earth is pushed away by the expanded lower layer, the overall atmosphere in that area has less air in it, which means the weight of the air (the pressure) at the ground is lower. So that's how low pressure areas form.
High pressure areas are just the opposite. Cool areas on the earth's surface cool the lowest layers, causing them to shrink, which causes more air to pile into the upper layers. This creates high pressure at the Earth's surface.
Seasonal Fluctuations
There is much greater variation in barometric pressure during the winter than during the summer. On average, high pressure systems are higher pressure and low pressure systems are lower pressure. This leads to a more rapid flow of air between the systems. This fluctuation is caused by much greater variation in temperature during the winter. While most summer days are roughly the same temperature, winter temperatures fluctuate dramatically.
The charts linked below show the seasonal variation in temperature, barometric pressure, and wind speed for New York City in 2008. Note how as temperatures become more stable from May to October, barometric pressure also becomes more stable, and wind speeds decrease.
http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KNYC/2008/1/1/CustomHistory.html?dayend=1&monthend=1&yearend=2009&req_city=NA&req_state=NA&req_statename=NA
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Why does the sunrise earlier in the summer then the winter?
the night is longer in summer than winter
How do sunset times change between summer and winter?
the sun is higher in the sky in the summer than in the winter
What happens to the length of daylight as you go from winter to summer?
There are more hours of daylight in a day during summer than there are in winter.
What are common characteristics of winter compared to summer?
sometimes the sun shines in winter just like summer it is just that the wind that is being blown during winter is colder than the one in summer..
Why are summer days warmer to winter days?
cause summer has the sun rays more than the winter so it's hotter
How do you put windier in a sentence?
It is windier today than it was yesterday.
Why does the sunrise earlier in the summer then the winter?
the night is longer in summer than winter
Why Milk sours more rapidly in summer than in winter?
Because, in summer the temperature is high and this helps milk to sour more easily than winter. But in winter it is totally opposite to it. Thus, milk turns sour more easily in summer than winter.
In UK there more wind turbines and less solar cells why?
The UK is windier than some countries, and less sunny than others (especially in the middle of Winter like now!)
How do sunset times change between summer and winter?
the sun is higher in the sky in the summer than in the winter
What is the length of shadows during the day in summer and winter?
Shadows lengths are less in summer than winter.
Give two differences between summer days and winter days?
1. Summer days are longer than winter2. Summer days are hotter than winter
Is the troposphere denser in winter than summer?
Yes. Cold air is denser than warm air and thus the troposphere is denser in the winter than in the summer.
Why do our skin drier in winter than summer season?
In the winter, the cold air is dryer than the warm air of summer. You skin dries out too!
What happens to the length of daylight as you go from winter to summer?
There are more hours of daylight in a day during summer than there are in winter.
What percentage of people prefer summer to winter?
most people like summer better than winter, but i don't know.
Why milk sour rapidly in summer than in winter?
Because it is hotter in the summer
