Feels colder in a warmer country

[Scottishwanderer]

2 Years ago i went to Canada for a holiday the coldest it got to was -32 but in comparison to Scotlands minus ten it didn't feel as cold.

Is it just me or is there a reason?

One explanation my dad gave was that in Canada it gets cold and stays cold for winter but in Scotland the temperature can hit below minus 10 at night and then get above freezing in the day melting everything making it wet and cold.

Any ideas?

 

[jackcbr]

I may be wide of the mark here, but I've heard people talk about this type of thing before. I believe, but have no basis of fact, that it is due to the amount of moister in the atmosphere in Scotland. Something to do with heat transference through moister is greater than air.

But I will say again, I have no basis of fact, just hearsay and what I've experienced whilst skiing.

 

[ged]

I'm sure it's the humidity. They say the same things in Sweden. I commented here a few months back that it felt colder than I expected in Sundsvall (on the coast) at only minus 15, and a guy who lives west of there, but inland, said that it's known for its 'raw' cold coming in off the Baltic.

 

[Shewie]

I think I heard some of the guys mention this on one of the Arctic courses, days when it was a really dry cold around -38 felt warmer than the wetter days when it crept up to -15 or so.

 

[firecrest]

yeah I remember sasquatch at the midlands meet (a canadian saying it often felt colder here)

 

[silentpaddler]

Yup, humidity is your friend in summer and your enemy in winter. This part of Canada is famous for humidity. -35 here feels hellishly cold compared to same temp out west.

 

[santaman2000]

My first impulse is to chock it up to humidity. But I suppose it that might be dependent on just what part of Canada was visited. Am I wrong in thinking that coastal BC is more humid than interior Canada?

BTW humidity is NOT your friend in Summer either. At the moment we're having normal daytime ambient temps of around 98 F or so; however because of the humidity the "relative temp" as reported by the weather service or usually over 105 F.

 

[santaman2000]

2 Years ago i went to Canada for a holiday the coldest it got to was -32 but in comparison to Scotlands minus ten it didn't feel as cold.

Is it just me or is there a reason?

One explanation my dad gave was that in Canada it gets cold and stays cold for winter but in Scotland the temperature can hit below minus 10 at night and then get above freezing in the day melting everything making it wet and cold.

Any ideas?

Of course humidity plays a part but is there another answer possible? For example might you be comparing the temp in one country in Farenhieght (Sp?) vs Celsius in the other?

 

[rik_uk3]

I think it is humidity, 'damp cold' if you like. I took an American chum camping about three years ago, Welsh winter and temp dropped to about -8c and he said he'd never been so cold in his life and the guy was used to winter camping in the States in much colder temps (in c). A good friend in Canada (ex brit) has said the same, the dry winter cold out there does seem 'different' to warmer UK cold weather.

 

[TallMikeM]

like others, I've had this commented to me by friends from colder climes. They put it down to the dampness as well.

 

[sasquatch]

A damp cold feels like it gets into your bones but a dry cold in Canada is nice and crisp if that makes sense. The West coast of Canada is more humid, it's closer to the temperate climate in the UK. In Saskatchewan where I grew up -40 was really cold but in a different way to -12 in the UK due to the dryness of Sask. It seems easier to dress for the dry cold with wool layers and down bags but in the UK it seems the moist environment keeps me cold from the inside for some reason. Perhaps I'm just a lightweight here but the winters didn't bother me much in Saskatchewan until 3 or 4 months into it when it started to get real old. Spring is like a new lease of life that I really look forward to every year even in the UK!

 

[mrcharly]

Definitely humidity.

On my one trip to the states, in February, I found the apparent temperature dangerously deceptive. When the air was still, it didn't feel cold at all (it was about -14C and felt like -1 would in the UK) - as soon as the sun went in and a wind started, all heat seemed to vanish from my body. The contrast was startling.

 

[santaman2000]

Definitely humidity.

On my one trip to the states, in February, I found the apparent temperature dangerously deceptive. When the air was still, it didn't feel cold at all (it was about -14C and felt like -1 would in the UK) - as soon as the sun went in and a wind started, all heat seemed to vanish from my body. The contrast was startling.

Wind-chill is another awesome multiplier of cold.

 

[sasquatch]

Wind-chill is another awesome multiplier of cold.

Definately, -30 on a calm day can be nice, -30 with wind is far from nice!

 

[Limaed]

The UK climate is very interesting, as we sit on a confluence of air flows with the majority being maritime though a NW -SW arc. This is the reason it can go from -10 - + 10 in 24 hrs it also produces an interesting snow-pack.
Often in the Highlands in winter you pass through the freezing level as you climb. Its not uncommon to get soaked through by rain then pass through the freezing level and have your clothes freeze like a suit of armour, these conditions are particularly suitable for causing hypothermia. Gore-Tex clothing isn't effective in these conditions as Paramo clothing.
Conversely in cold, clear and dry conditions you can often get by with just a base layer and windproof.