Wind in the Willows

A serious debate has erupted within the local running community. Is wind chill a believable, useful tool or a myth perpetuated by weather people to assist in gathering viewers?

A strong, vocal minority of our usual running group believes the wind chill measurement is bunk. The rest of us are pretty sure this minority also thinks the earth is flat, astronauts didn't go to the moon and the Buffalo Bills will win a Super Bowl.

A cold Saturday morning (25 degrees) and a 12 mph wind from the S-SW found us debating which direction on the canal path we should begin our run. Common sense dictated going toward the west. We headed east, which meant the out and back run ended with the last three miles + going into the wind. Here is an explanation of wind chill;
"wind chill, also spelled windchill, a measure of the rate of heat loss from skinthat is exposed to the air. It is based on the fact that, as wind speeds increase, the heat loss also increases, making the air “feel” colder." (Encyclopedia Britannica).

 And from the National Weather Service, " The NWS Windchill Temperature (WCT) index uses advances in science, technology, and computer modeling to provide an accurate, understandable, and useful formula for calculating the dangers from winter winds and freezing temperatures.

Even without believing in wind chill, obviously it is easier to run with the wind at your back. But maybe the anti-windchill gang are diehard Bob Seger fans, "Against the wind,We were runnin' against the wind
We were young and strong, we were runnin', Against the wind."

Of course we are not young and still strong is also debatable. Winter has just begun here in upstate NY, I'm sure we will be having many more discussions on which direction to run in.