This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

DENVER (KDVR) — Arctic cold has settled in across Colorado, dropping temperatures to below zero on Thursday morning.

You may have noticed our Pinpoint Weather Team showing the actual temperature on weather maps, as well as wind chill temperatures.

But what is the wind chill temperature?

The National Weather Service says the wind chill temperature is how cold people and animals feel when outside. Wind chill is based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin caused by wind and cold.

“As the wind increases, it draws heat from the body, driving down skin temperature and eventually the internal body temperature. Therefore, the wind makes it feel much colder. If the temperature is 0 degrees and the wind is blowing at 15 mph, the wind chill is minus 19 degrees. At this wind chill temperature, exposed skin can freeze in 30 minutes,” the NWS said.

Credit: National Weather Service

This chart from the National Weather Service shows that it doesn’t have to be super cold, and the wind doesn’t have to blow hard, to give someone frostbite in as little as a half-hour.