Issues relating to wind chill from mesonets and vertical wind profile variations

Many mesonet observing systems measure wind speed at heights other than the WMO standard of 10 m AGL. The 2001 Windchill Temperature index assumes a wind speed at 1.5 m of two-thirds of the wind speed observed at 10 m. Using mesonet data observed at both 10 m and 2 m, we consider the significance of this assumption in calculation of wind chill. Results are analyzed separately for day and night conditions, as well as according to wind speed categories. Potential implications will be explored of users mistakenly applying the wind chill index using winds from nonstandard heights and no corrections to the formula.