South Carolina cold vs. Wyoming cold

[philos]

I am curious if others have experienced this. I've noticed that there is a significant difference in the "feel" of the same temperature in different locations-namely SC vs. WY.

The temperature here now is 46 with a real feel of 40 and humidity of 46% . If I were in Wyoming (instead of SC) and had to guess the temperature, I would guess it to be around 20. I have been out in Wyoming with the temps in the teens and if feels like SC with the temp in high 30s or even 40.

I've heard folks say it is the humidity and possibility the difference in elevation but how can my perception of the cold be that different in these 2 locations?

I was sleeping in the back of the truck near Lander a couple of weeks back. I was perfectly comfortable sleeping and I did not need heavy layers even before first light. There was frost on some of my stuff and I would never have known the temp was that low just by how I felt.

I mean the difference I feel is not a couple of degrees-it is substantial. I remember being in Dubois WY years back and the temps were in the teens.
I was hiking pretty hard so I built some body heat but I was good with 1 long sleeve shirt-back in SC I would have been freezing in the same temp range.

Is there a logical explanation for this? Am I the only one that experiences this?

 

[bigbassin]

100% there’s a difference between Southern cold and out west/up north. I’ve comfortably been barefoot and shirtless in 20 degree temps out west (zero wind, completely sunny), but need a jacket if it hits 60 in Florida. I knew a guy from Wyoming that complained Florida is cold…


Humidity, wind, and cloud cover matters just as much as the temperature imo. If it’s dark, wet, and wind is blowing it will feel a whole lot worse than sunny dry conditions.

 

[philos]

Yea-I get the wind and dampness matter but I'm talking sunny days with similar wind speeds. Humidity is pretty much always lower out west but hard to understand how it makes such a difference. I have not noticed the same phenomenon in the Northeast.

I've had this experience many times as I've been out west quite a bit but it always surprises me to feel the difference I do at same temp.

BTW-welcome to Rokslide bigbassin!

 

[Mojave]

Humidity "water vapor" acts as a conduit to temp changes.

The same reason a piece of food cooked on a non-stick pan will cook slowly versus a greased one or one with water in it.

 

[FLATHEAD]

I've hunted AK, MT, ID, and NM.
Coldest I've ever been was on a muzzleloader hunt in Tennessee.

 

[Newtosavage]

I've worked on the TX coast for many years and I know a lot of northerners who complain about how cold it feels in the winter, even at just 50 degrees. I can tell you that 25 and sunny in Colorado is about the same as 45 here in SE Texas. Humidity makes everything feel worse - hot or cold.

 

[mike.adams.467]

I lived half my life in West VIrginia. Sitting in a tree stand there in November was colder than anything I've experienced in my 30 years in Idaho!

 

[philos]

I think perhaps it is also due to the fact that those of us that hunt mostly whitetails are more manly and tougher than the elk and muley hunters out west.

 

[elkguide]

I learned many years ago that "out West they have cold that goes all around you. Here in the Northeast, we have lazy cold that goes right through you!"

 

[Elmer J. Fudd]

I have experienced this too. Hunting in single digit weather in Wyoming was very comfortable compared to the Midwest. It also makes sense of the difference between insulation layers needed for the two climates.

 

[jayhawk]

Had an old cowboy tell me about how he's vetted cattle and roped steers for 30 years in -20deg in WY . . . but the coldest night he's ever had was in the mountains of East Tennessee. It's a different cold or sure.

Want to also add that the snow is different. Westerners try to drive 4-Runners in KY or TN snow and they look like they've never seen snow in their life.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Humidity

 

[fngTony]

I think elevation contributes in two ways. The dry air and the more intense sun.

 

[mlgc20]

Reminds me of the Mark Twain quote about the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.

 

[tdhanses]

Humidity "water vapor" acts as a conduit to temp changes.

The same reason a piece of food cooked on a non-stick pan will cook slowly versus a greased one or one with water in it.

Yup it’s the humidity in the air.

 

[a_noob_hunter]

I spent a couple years in upstate south carolina and i vividly remember having several jackets on it with it being 20° and stepping outside and instantly being cold. Cold with humidity just cuts through your layers. Out in Montana if you have a windbreaker itll help alot. The dry air doesn't have the cut that the wet/humid air does

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[Azone]

Coastal fog with very cold air temps sucks.

 

[Mojave]

20 in Maine is colder than -10 in Barrow, Alaska.

Maybe not have the same effect on your body, but it feels colder.

 

[manitou1]

Come back to WY in March when it is wet, windy and miserable. A whole other level of cold! 60 moh winds for a week or more straight, wet sleet and snow. Gotta love it!

 

[grfox92]

It's the humidity in the air. I'm from NY and now live in WY.

32 degrees in NY feels like 10 degrees in WY.

I show up to work outside in Wyoming in the teens, in layers and a cotton hoody as my outer layer and feel comfortable.

I would have to wear a Parka in NY if it was in the teens.

Your observation is very real and applies to hot days as well.

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