Feels Like

"Feels Like" has become a standard weather phrase.  The temperature at 7:00am is 26 and feels like 37, with a heat warning, and possible thunderstorm.  I noticed the difference between the cooler Niagara-on-the-Lake and warmer Grimsby yesterday. Our pictures show the Town Library garden. Accuweather reports that its RealFeel temperature was created in the 1990s by Joel N. Myers, Michael A. Sternberg, Joseph Sobel, Elliot Abrams and Evan Myers. "The RealFeel Temperature is an equation that takes into account many different factors to determine how the temperature actually feels outside. It is the first temperature to take into account multiple factors to determine how hot and cold feels. Some of the components that are used in the equation are humidity, cloud cover, winds, sun intensity and angle of the sun. Humidity is a large contributor to determining the RealFeel, but the time of the day also is important, due to the angle of the sun. In the morning the low angle of the sun gives off less heat because the energy is spread out, according to AccuWeather.com Expert Senior Meteorologist Dan Kottlowski. In the afternoon, the sun is overhead and the sun's energy is more direct and gives off more energy, making it feel warmer. "The RealFeel takes into consideration the angle of the sun and its affects on an object or the body," Kottlowski said." Other sites distinguish  between the calculation for wind chill and heat index.  An interesting fact is that humid and heat indexes are based on temperature measurements taken in the shade and not the sun, so extra care must be taken while in the sun.