Dress by Weather

What should I wear today?

Layers, shoes and whether to bring an umbrella, from your city's hourly forecast and how cold you run.

 

How we worked this out

Example: 52°F (11°C) with a steady 16 mph wind, for someone who runs cold.

  • 52°F (11°C) air
  • 47°F (8°C) with the wind
  • 40°F (4°C) after running cold: the Cold range, three layers

Colors show the air temperature, as on the hourly strip. The lines mark where each dressing range starts.

The forecast comes from the National Weather Service, hour by hour. We take the daytime hours still ahead of you (tomorrow's, once today's are over) and use their average temperature, the strongest wind and the highest chance of rain or snow.

Next we work out how cold or hot that feels. In cold wind we use the Weather Service's wind chill formula; in heat and humidity, its heat index formula. Otherwise it is simply the air temperature.

Then we adjust for you. If you run cold, we dress you as if it were 7°F (4°C) colder; if you run warm, 7°F (4°C) warmer. Sitting still counts as 3°F (2°C) colder and exercise as 10°F (6°C) warmer. Being out 30 minutes or less counts as 4°F (2°C) warmer; 4 hours or more counts as 4°F (2°C) colder when it is still below 65°F (18°C) after those adjustments. Below 72°F (22°C), when the wind chill formula isn't already in use, a steady wind of 15 mph or more counts as 5°F (3°C) colder, and 25 mph or more as 7°F (4°C) colder.

The result is what we call the dressing temperature. It falls into one of the ranges in the table, and each range has a starting outfit. Rain, wind, snow, sun, exercise and a big gap between the day's low and high then change it. From a 20% chance of rain the card adds “Compact umbrella”, and from 40% “Umbrella”.

Your settings and your last city are saved in this browser only. There is no account to create.

Dressing temperature ranges
Range°F (°C)Starting outfit
frigid, three layersBelow 25°FBelow −4°CThermal base layer, Fleece, Parka, Lined pants, Insulated boots, Beanie, Gloves, Scarf
cold, three layers25–45°F−4 to 7°CLong-sleeve tee, Light sweater, Insulated coat, Jeans, Boots
cool, three layers45–60°F7–16°CLong-sleeve tee, Light sweater, Light jacket, Jeans, Sneakers
mild, two layers60–72°F16–22°CT-shirt, Light jacket, Jeans, Sneakers
warm, one layer72–85°F22–29°CT-shirt, Shorts, Sneakers
hot, one layer85°F and up29°C and upT-shirt, Shorts, Sandals

Each range starts at its lower number and runs up to, but not including, the next one.