Yes, I have often wondered about the usefulness of wind-chill figures in general public forecasts.

For mountain and maritime forecasts, where people are going to be exposed to strong winds and low temperatures for long periods - fine.

But for the average person walking to the shops, does putting a figure on the wind-chill effect actually achieve anything, apart from pandering to exaggerated headline writers?

One curious thing which as always confused me, is why the w-c calculator takes no account of the humidity of the air. I think most people would agree that a 20 mph wind and an air temperature of minus 1 will feel different if the dew point is either minus 1, or minus 10.