Dye Tied
Garden Variety Gnome
My sister always says "but it's a dry cold here in Vermont!" I've been there in Feb. and cold is cold!
Some smart scientific person...
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My sister always says "but it's a dry cold here in Vermont!" I've been there in Feb. and cold is cold!
Larry Gude
Strung Out
And that flow can be described as an insulating effect. Same reason 50 degree water is cold as hell to swim in but it's even worse when you get out into the 50 degree air.
I think your answer is better, more of what she was asking; scientific.
As a practical description, snow is insulating. It's making it, as you said, feel warmer.
We put 'cold' water on outdoor pansies on below freezing AM's in the fall. It warms them up because it IS warmer than the air and it provides a thin layer of...insulation along with increasing the radiant effect of whatever sun is available first thing in the AM.
Larry Gude
Strung Out
I'll tell you what; 0 degrees in Wolf Creek Colorado at O dark thirty is freaking way colder than 0 here in the east for the reasons Tilted say; moisture. NO humidity out west.
Then, We'd ski at 15-20 degrees later on when the sun was up and be comfortable. No insulation, no buffer.
twinoaks207
Having Fun!
So why in August when it is 95 with 90% humidity (air with more moisture) do we feel hotter?
Larry Gude
Strung Out
Same thing; insulation. In summer, it's keeping heat 'in' to more of an extent than 100 degrees in Phoenix.
Dye Tied
Garden Variety Gnome
twinoaks207
Having Fun!
Thanks Larry & Dye! Obviously, science is not one of my strength areas! 
Tilted
..
Because of the same effect in reverse - the moist air has more thermal energy in it than dry air at the same temperature would. Therefore, the rate at which it will suck thermal energy from you is less - or if you want to think of it this way - the rate at which you can give it your thermal energy is less.
Now, it is true that your body temperature is still a little higher than the 95 degree air temperature is. But, the body still wants to get rid of some of its excess energy - it is always doing that, because it is constantly making more thermal energy through its natural processes. If it couldn't dissipate that energy, it would overheat, so to speak.
So, what you perceive as it being hot outside isn't really caused by the air being hotter than your body temperature - it is caused by the air accepting your excess thermal energy at a slower rate than when the air is colder, because it is closer to your body temperature than colder air would be. Hot moist air accepts your excess thermal energy even slower than hot dry air, because water has a higher specific heat capacity. This phenomena is also at play when your body resorts to sweating because it needs to get rid of excess thermal energy faster.
Right. Because I understand the insulating effect of snow and it makes perfect sense to me. But as I gaze up at the open sky and around at the rest of the openness, "insulation" wasn't coming to me.
Light reflection makes sense, as does the drier air factor.
Larry Gude
Strung Out
Right. Because I understand the insulating effect of snow and it makes perfect sense to me. But as I gaze up at the open sky and around at the rest of the openness, "insulation" wasn't coming to me.
Light reflection makes sense, as does the drier air factor.
Let me try another tack; Notice how much quieter it is when it's snowing or there is a lot of snow on the ground?
Insulation.
I just figured that's because everyone is inside.
Larry Gude
Strung Out
Well, there's that!
I always notice a quiet, a softening of noise, an enveloping sense when it's snowing.
Unless the wind is blowing it sideways.
