Cold in different regions (climate, warm, average, Chicago)

[desert sun]

What does winter feel like in cities that are somewhat comparable weather wise, I have heard people say the cold in Denver is more tolerable than the cold in NYC even at the same temps, Why is this?

I have also heard people say that the humidity in the South makes the air feel colder ,then I heard the opposite, Which is it?

Has anyone lived in different areas of the country that can compare the different kind of cold?

I live in Albuquerque,NM and the winter days are nice and sunny here but the nights are cold, but it still dosent feel all that bad for some reason.

[§AB]

I find that the colder it is, the more it "bites". High Humidity at temps below 65F just adds insult to injury. Dry cold seems to sting more, while damp humid cold just seeps thru your clothes and skin. Hence why humid cold is more gross.

[Jammie]

I live in the southeastern part of So. Dak. We have humidity over here and our summers feel a lot hotter and we have higher "feels like" temps then in the western part of my state. Western So. Dak. has a semi-arid climate and their humidity is practically non-existent and their dewpoint is very low. Except for the Northern Hills, their winters are MUCH milder then ours are. Their lack of humidity makes if feel much warmer there then over here. And I'm only talking about a 200 mile difference. So IMHO humidity makes the cold feel much colder.

[dxiweodwo]

here in FL, whenever it gets cold here, we get a bitter cold breeze from the ocean, raising humidity levels, making it feel....BITTER.

I think in the south, the first day of a cold wave, is almost always very windy, which makes it feel very cold.....same thing can be said about New England, except their cold/windy snaps last a lot longer

[Steve-o]

IMO, humid cold and dry cold are equally miserable. Humid cold seeps into your body, and dry cold feels blisteringly cold, more intense.

Here in Chicago we can have highs in the single digits sometimes, with lows below 0. Those nights are so dry that you need to apply lotion all the time. The humid cold is warmer in feel, but feels damp. Neither are that great in my book. I prefer a winter day in the low 40s with dry air, that feels nice and refreshing.

[Stormcrow73]

Well...by strict thermodynamics, humid cold has more latent heat energy and thus one "should" feel a bit more comfortable. The water vapor in the air has to carry at least the energy of vaporization so the body could potentially scavenge some of that. However, whenever that humidity condenses on the body, you now have the potential to lose that heat and more if there is much wind. So on a still day, you should be more comfortable in humid cold than in dry cold but most likely the exact opposite on a windy day.

On the flip side, anyone who told you that humid heat feels "cooler" must have been on something. In humid heat, your body has a hard time cooling itself by perspiration which is of course our number one system of heat removal. Regardless of whether the day is windy or still, humid heat is oppressive and the human body struggles to thermoregulate.

[Nomadicus]

The worst cold to me is what you are totally not used to. I've been colder in C FL at 17° firing orange groves than at -17° while cutting firewood in the midwest. You can aclimate some if it is a regular event. When it's only once or twice in a life time it's cold regardless of humidity. Our humidity was so low when in the midwest my nose would bleed all winter long. It was still cold dry or not if you were sitting in a deer stand.

[blue_eyedgirl]

Well here in Fairbanks the winters are super freaking cold. The 40 to 50 below stretches are absolutely miserable and it hurts to breathe. Usually when it warms up to around Zero we start breaking out the summer clothes

[...D-Man...]

^^ that sounds disgusting! :O
Here in ireland we are on the same latitude as alaska, but the gulf stream keeps us mild all year our winter daytime temps average in the high 40's to low 50's ...i find that strange!
i have a question..whats summer like in alaska...is it warm?

[blue_eyedgirl]

Originally Posted by ...D-Man...

^^ that sounds disgusting! :O
Here in ireland we are on the same latitude as alaska, but the gulf stream keeps us mild all year our winter daytime temps average in the high 40's to low 50's ...i find that strange!
i have a question..whats summer like in alaska...is it warm?

Yeah, it is pretty disgusting. Not the most pleasant place to live from November through May.

The summers are normally very nice. Its been a wet and chilly summer this year but the past 5 summers that I have spent up here have been very warm and dry. A normal summer day is upper 70's to lower 80's. There isn't hardly any humidity like at home (Kentucky) so its a very pleasant temp. I have to admit that the summer are incredible (when it doesn't rain all summer) and almost make the winters worth it.

You are so lucky to live in Ireland though. Now that looks like a beautiful place!