ST. LOUIS – Sixty-degree temperatures in the St. Louis region are set to drop to highs in the 50s later this workweek.

On paper, it’s a mild temperature change. But such a swing may feel colder in the fall months compared to other points of the year. For some, 60s or 50s in the fall may feel colder than an identical temperature in the spring.

Reader’s Digest recently explored this topic with experienced meteorologists, noting that while some environmental factors play a role, much of how identical temperatures feel across different seasons is also a matter of perception.

As FOX 2 meteorologist Jaime Travers explains, temperatures of 60 degrees can feel vastly different depending on factors like wind, cloud cover, and how our bodies adapt to temperature changes.

For instance, when it’s 60 degrees and sunny with calm winds, it will feel pleasantly warm, especially in areas of direct sunlight. Warming up to that point after a period of colder weather will also be refreshing for our bodies battling such conditions.

However, when it’s 60 degrees and cloudy with gusty winds, the same temperature can feel much colder. By the fall, our bodies have largely adapted to the summer heat, so a change of pace to colder air can feel a little shocking at first.

Adding to crisp fall weather, as St. Louis 11 meteorologist John Fuller explains, a lower solar angle for St. Louis in the fall provides less direct warmth from the sun. Stronger winds are tied to faster-moving weather systems and pressure changes that amplify the cooling effect.

By the fall and winter months, people will often refer to the metric of wind chill to get an idea of the feels-like temperature. Wind chill represents what the air temperature feels like on the human skin due to current temperatures and wind conditions, so it gives an idea of how cold the outdoors may feel at a given time, but it doesn’t truly reflect the air temperature.

Even without calculating a formal wind chill, keeping a close eye on wind patterns could make a difference in the “feels like” temperature.

This phenomenon is known as cold air advection. A strong northwesterly wind transporting cold air, oftentimes occurring in late fall or winter, can make seemingly mild temperatures feel brisk. Conversely, a southerly wind, like Monday and Tuesday, can make similar temperatures feel closer to their mild marks.

All told, it’s not usually just one environmental or perceptual factor that explains why the same temperature can feel different at various times of the year, but rather a combination of variables.

Reader’s Digest also offered some of these reasons behind similar temperatures feeling different at certain parts of the year:

Higher humidity makes it feel warmer. St. Louis’ humidity drops in the colder months.

A warm ground radiates more heat. More likely after warmer stretches in spring.

Altitudes can make a difference.

Being near a body of water may help release heat.

Older adults have lower body temperatures than younger adults and children.