7 Times You Put Yourself in Danger of Frostbite Without Knowing It

You don’t look at the wind chill

Any time your skin is exposed to temperatures below freezing, you’re at risk for frostbite. That risk increases when you factor in wind chill, which tracks how cold you actually feel thanks to cold winds. As the wind gets stronger and colder, your body loses heat faster and skin temperature drops. When the air temperature is 0˚F, for example, and the wind blows at 15 mph, the wind chill is -19˚F. All it takes is 30 minutes for frostbite to kick in if your skin is exposed to this temperature. (This chart from the National Weather Service explains how long it takes to get frostbite based on a given temperature and wind speed.)