Pretty much. I’ve experienced actual -30F temperatures a few times, and it’s a completely different experience than 0F temperatures with a -30 wind chill.
You go outside in “true” -30F and everything in your nose instantly freezes. Packed snow under your feet creaks and groans with a hollow nails-on-chalkboard type sound. If you left your car out overnight, it probably won’t start unless you have a block heater.
A wind chill that “feels like” -30F is comical by comparison. Your ears turn red and they hurt a little bit if you stay out for more than a few minutes. If you wear glasses they fog up when you come inside, but that’s about as far as it goes.
I wouldn’t want to stay outside for hours in either condition unless I was bundled up like an eskimo, but one situation is much more survivable than the other.
