Chilly bites

We who are here in the Southern Hemisphere Winter have already experienced two familiar “chilly bites” that come with very cold weather.

Firstly, our frozen toes and fingers feel “biting cold” when their exposure to low temperatures causes freezing of our skin and the tissue below it. The numbness, stinging and pain we feel are the burst of our nervous impulses (= Alarm!) signalling that ice crystals are forming in our blood cells. Our blood pressure has already risen to carry warm blood away from our extremities and towards our vital organs. That is what leaves our fingers and toes feeling “biting” cold.

Secondly, the wind rushing around the corner of a solid object, such as a building, “howls”. Sound is made by vibrations in the air. When strong wind coming from one side meets up with strong wind coming from the other side, any difference in their air pressure causes the meshing of their vibrations to make a loud sound. It can sound like a roar, a howl, a squeal, a whistle, a hum, a sigh, a whoosh, a hiss or a moan. We have come to associate those sounds with chilly weather.

Wind can make any of those sounds in summer, too. In regions where trees are deciduous in the coldest season, we are more aware of the sounds because the trees are bare. Leaves on trees muffle sound.