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If the relative humidity is 100%, then being wet won't make you colder: the water has to evaporate in order to cool you, and it can't do that at 100% relative h
by cwillu 6mo ago
If the relative humidity is 100%, then being wet won't make you colder: the water has to evaporate in order to cool you, and it can't do that at 100% relative humidity. The problem that high humidity cold causes is increased convection, and the problem being wet causes is the dramatic near-complete loss of the insulation value of many garments.
There is a _lot_ of folk science about cold weather that is just plain wrong.
- david-gpu 6mo ago> The problem that high humidity cold causes is increased convection Can you help me understand? How does higher relative humidity increase convection?
- forgotTheLast 6mo agoHumid air has higher heat capacity and higher heat conductivity than dry air which both increase convective heat loss.
- david-gpu 6mo agoAll of that is true, but how does that relate to convection? That is the part I find puzzling.
- rawgabbit 6mo agoI think he was talking about the weather conditions. Cold weather fronts with high humidity means strong winds.