I know that humid air makes people feel hotter in the summer, how does humidity affect the “feels like” temperature in the winter?
Some people claim that a “wet” cold feels colder than a “dry” cold. One possible reason for this is that we wear insulating clothing in the winter. The dead air spaces within the fill materials of a jacket or within the fibers of a sweater limit the loss of body heat, due to the low thermal conductivity of air. Thermal conductivity increases as relative humidity increases, so body heat is more quickly lost in more humid conditions, making one feel colder. All other conditions being equal, a cold day with rain and/or fog feels colder than a dry day. If moisture is on the skin, heat will be lost through conduction of heat from the body to the water as well as the evaporative cooling effects of the water. There’s plenty more about how the body regulates temperature on this USA TODAY resource page.
