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Comfort Factor

Canadians are weather watchers and they seldom make their decisions on outdoor activities without consulting a forecast. The public perception of outdoor winter recreation opportunities is governed by extensive media coverage of weather including wind chill. The use of weather forecasts has prompted the Ontario Snow Resorts Association to create a scale that will enable the public to accurately reflect the level of comfort they may expect while engaged in winter recreation.

This scale has been named the Comfort Factor and specifically relates wind chill to a set of parameters the public can use to enable them to enjoy winter activities.

This winter various snow resort operators will begin using the scale when reporting their ski, snowboard and other winter activities. The Ontario Ministry of Tourism Ski and Snowboard Report will include the information on the Comfort Factor relating to clothing and other needs that will make for an enjoyable winter day outdoors.

The resort operators in Ontario believe this new scale will assist the public in determining appropriate clothing for a great outdoor experience.

COMFORT FACTOR	WIND CHILL EQUIVALENT	TEMP & WIND COMBINATIONS	COMFORT REQUIREMENTS
1. Very comfortable outdoor winter conditions.	+4	+10C and 20K to +5 and 10k	Comfortable activity maintained with light winter clothing.  Insulated clothing not required.
2. Comfortable outdoor conditions with adequate insulated clothing	-12	+4C and 60K to -9C and 10K	Adequate insulating, dry clothng required to maintain core temperatures above +36C must be provided
3. Comfortable outdoor conditions require activity and quality outdoor clothing	-20 to -25	-3C and 55K to -18C and 10K	Keep active.  Well made insulating, dry clothing a necessity.  Clothing featuring layering a good recommendation.  a hat is necessity.
4. Shortened outdoor activity with warm-up breaks.  Cover all skin.	-25 to -50	-6C and 60K to -22C and 10K	Freezing of exposed skin can begin for most people depending on degree of activity and amount of sunshine.  Cover all skin areas.  Keep active and take frequent warm-up breaks.
5. Outdoor activity to be kept to a minimum	-50 to -67	-23C and 60K to -40 and 10K	Conditions for outdoor activity become dangerous.  Exposed skin freezes in less than one minute at -50C