Temporal Trends of Mean and Extreme Wind Chill in Georgia, 1961-1990

Our primary goal in this paper is to examine temporal and spatial variability of mean and extreme wind chill in Georgia over the period 1961-1990. Because short-term moderations of extreme climatic conditions result in reduced demand for electricity, this type of climatological analysis is critical to the strategic planning and forecasting needs of electric power generation industries. Daily values of a wind chill index (WCI) were calculated for Georgia's six primary weather stations for winter months of each year. From this time series mean daily WCI, the highest daily mean WCI, and the highest one-hour WCI in a given year are examined. The strongest temporal patterns are found to occur near the end of the study period, with mean and extreme recorded wind chills exhibiting robust downward trends into 1990. Although absolute values of recorded wind chill are found to vary across the state, there is substantial covariance among the six stations.