What to Wear Walking in 55°F Weather
55°F is 13°C. Everything below applies to either reading — the kit does not care which scale you think in.
Chilly enough that bare arms and legs get cold fast. Cover the extremities and add a light layer.
What to Wear
Walking kit for 55°F
- ●Long sleeve shirt
- ●light jacket
- ●pants
Women's variation
- ●Long sleeve top
- ●light jacket
- ●pants
What 55°F actually feels like once you are moving
At 55°F walking is the gentlest of the three, and the reason is that you are barely making heat: a fraction of a runner's output, and only 3 mph of airflow. That means 55°F rarely feels oppressive on foot. What does catch walkers is duration. A walk covering the same ground as a run takes twice as long, so the sun exposure, the fluid loss and the air you are breathing all accumulate for hours rather than minutes.
Dress for the finish, not the doorstep
Your own engine is worth about 6°F once you are going. The practical rule is to dress for 61°F standing still rather than the 55°F on the forecast. Walking gets the smallest correction of the three — about 6 degrees, against a runner's 18 — because 3 mph simply does not make much heat. This is the one activity where dressing to be comfortable when you step outside is close to right.
Not sure of the temperature? Enter your city in the free tool for live conditions, a Ride Score, and rain- and wind-adjusted advice.
Open the live toolThe first ten minutes
You will not warm up much at 55°F, so what you set out in is roughly what you will have all walk. That makes this the one activity where dressing comfortably at the door is right — carry a light jacket in a daypack or tied at the waist for when the light goes.
What changes at 55°F when it is wet, windy or bright
Rain
Rain at 55°F walks like about 45°F dry, and this is the activity where that hurts most. You are making little heat to replace what the water takes, and you are out for hours. A properly waterproof shell — not merely water-resistant — plus dry gloves, is worth more to a walker than any extra insulation.
Wind
A 15 mph wind at 55°F hits a walker harder than the numbers suggest, because you have almost no heat production to spare and no pace to shorten the exposure. Blocking the wind at the chest and neck does more for a walker than adding a warmer mid-layer.
Sun
Bright low sun at 55°F feels several degrees warmer than it is, and drops straight back the moment you turn into shade. Dress for the shaded stretches and for the last hour, not for the doorstep in full sun.
The mistake people make at 55°F
At 55°F walkers routinely under-dress because the number does not sound serious. But you are producing a fraction of a runner's heat at this temperature, so what a runner can wear at 55°F is not what you can. Insulate properly, and cover the hands earlier than you think.
Hands, feet and ears
At 55°F walkers often want light gloves when runners do not, and that is not softness — your hands are swinging gently rather than pumping, and you are making a third of the heat.
Frequently asked
What should I wear walking in 55°F?
For 55°F, wear: Long sleeve shirt, light jacket, pants. Dress for about 61°F rather than 55°F, because your own effort is worth roughly 6 degrees once you are moving.
Does 55°F feel colder when you are walking?
Not in the way cold does. Above 50°F the airflow from moving at 3 mph mostly helps, by evaporating sweat — so 55°F feels cooler in motion than standing still. The risk at 55°F is overheating when you stop, not chilling while you move.
Should I dress differently walking at 55°F than for cycling or running?
Yes, and in the direction people find surprising: a walker needs the most clothing of the three at 55°F. You produce a fraction of a runner's heat and never really warm up, so kit that a runner would overheat in is about right for you.
Is 55°F too cold to go walking?
No — 55°F is comfortable for walking with the right layers, and plenty of people consider it close to ideal once they are moving.
Do I need a jacket at 55°F?
A windproof shell, yes; an insulated jacket, no. At 55°F the wind is doing most of the cooling, and a thin layer that blocks it beats a thick one that only insulates.
What should I wear walking in 13°C?
13°C is 55°F, so the answer on this page is the one you want: Long sleeve shirt, light jacket, pants. Nothing about the advice changes with the scale — only the number you read off the forecast.
What changes if it rains at 55°F?
Treat it as roughly 45°F. Add a windproof or water-resistant shell over the same kit rather than adding insulation underneath — wet insulation holds water against the skin and is worse than none.