How cold air impacts tire pressure
(CBS DETROIT) - In Michigan, we are no stranger to cold temperatures this week, as we are experiencing a cold air blast.
Now have you ever got into your car and seen the low tire pressure light turn on? Well, there's a correlation between air temperatures and tire pressure.
Meteorologist Kylee Miller is with the NEXT Weather Tracker explaining how cold air impacts tire pressure.
When the air temperature rises, the pressure rises. When temperatures cool, the air pressure goes down.
Cold air is more dense, so the molecules lose energy and don't move as fast. For about every 10-degree temperature drop, the tire loses about 1 to 2 PSI.
You can also replicate this with balloons. When the balloon is inside, molecules are happy and moving around a lot, bumping into the sidewalls of the balloon. In this case the tires walls. When it gets cold, the molecules stop moving as much and that causes the balloon or tires to deflate.
So when you hear your NEXT Weather team talking about the arctic air, check your tires.
