It considers both temperature and wind and is an excellent guide as to clothing needed for protection against uncomfortable weather. The wind chill table was originally developed in 1941 to assist U. S. personnel working in the extremely harsh Antarctic environment. A person out of doors loses much more body heat in a windy environment than in a calm atmosphere. As the wind increases, so does the loss of body heat. The apparent temperature located in the wind chill table is a measure of how cold you might feel under certain temperature and wind conditions, regardless of the actual temperature reading.
Wind is also responsible for altering the water surface of oceans and lakes.
Moving air in contact with water causes it to pile up in ridges, much like sand dunes. The characteristics of a ocean wave as depicted in the graphic include its height and length. The time interval between passage of successive crests at a stationary point is called the wave period. Small wavelets or ripples will appear as soon as a breeze of 2 mph flows across the water surface. Whitecaps begin to form on top of waves when winds reach about 15 mph.