In WA, It’s Not “Windchill” Anymore: Here’s The New Name

Have you felt the cooler fall weather in the past few days? I had to find my jacket in odd places around the house. Soon, the cooler autumn temps will dip into the 30s and 20s. Add some wind out of the north, and we’ll feel the wind chill.

Have you noticed? The Weather service no longer calls it Windchill.  

For decades, "wind chill" describes how our bodies feel when the wind and cold temperatures mix. 

Look at the weather app on your phone. You’ll no longer see wind in the cooler months of the year described as “wind chill” but rather the new modern phrase: "feels like."

Where did the term Wind Chill come from?

I went to the American Polar Society to learn the phrase's origin. 

Paul Allman Siple (1908-1968) was an Eagle Scout and Sea Scout invited by Admiral Richard E. Byrd to accompany him on his first expedition to Antarctica in 1928-30…Paul Siple and Charles Passel were both given credit for creating the wind chill index, which they developed in the research they conducted during the U.S. Antarctic Service Expedition in 1939-40. -American Polar Society

Both Paul Siple and Charles Passel found in their scientific experiments that the faster the wind blew in the harsh conditions of the South Pole - the quicker water turned to ice. When wind speed increased, they noted that heat left the object faster. 

The weather term Wind Chill was born through this discovery in the harshest environment on Earth.

Why did the Weather community feel the need to change the phrase?

They wanted a way to illustrate freezing weather without invoking what the wind does to cold temperatures.

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When did the new weather terminology take effect?

As of October 1st, 2024, wind chill terminology in Washington and worldwide will no longer use long-used weather terms such as “Wind chill watch” and “Wind chill warning/advisory.”

We have now moved to "Cold Weather Advisory," “Extreme Cold Watch," or "Extreme Cold Warning."