If you live in the contiguous United States, then you probably already know: It’s been a hot summer. Heat wave after heat wave has hit cities as far flung as New York, Chicago, and Dallas, while ominous terms like “heat dome” are being thrown around. Unfortunately, for most of us the heat shows no signs of letting up, and in these major cities it’s going to feel like more than 100 degrees this weekend.
According to the NOAA National Weather Service, about 44.3 million people – or about 13 percent of the population of the contiguous United States – live in areas where dangerous levels of heat have been forecast. When it’s this hot out, it’s recommended that you stay hydrated, stay indoors in a cool room, and if you need to go outside, to spend as little amount of time in the sun as possible. It’s also smart to check on the elderly and those who live alone; not having air conditioning in this heat can make being indoors dangerous, too.
In order to gauge how hot it feels like, as opposed to just looking at the thermometer, it’s important to take a second factor into account: humidity. Because moisture in the air doesn’t allow sweat to effectively evaporate from your body (which is what cools you down), humidity makes a hot day especially unbearable. This combination of temperature and humidity is called the heat index, and a heat index of more than 100 is considered dangerous.
To determine the major cities where it is going to feel over 100 degrees this weekend, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on heat index forecasts from the NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Prediction. Cities were ranked based on the average forecasted heat index maximum for July 19-21, 2024. Data was aggregated from points to cities using Voronoi tessellation and place boundaries from the U.S. Census Bureau’s TIGER/Line program. Only cities with at least 150,000 residents were considered. Population data is from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and are five-year estimates for 2022.
If you live in any of these cities, take care to keep cool this weekend. It might also be worth seeing if your city is one where the summers are only going to get hotter.
34. Baton Rouge, LA
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 100.3°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 100.1°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 100.1°F
- Total population: 225,500
33. Austin, TX
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 99.2°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 100.5°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 101.4°F
- Total population: 958,202
32. Augusta, GA
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 100.0°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 101.1°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 100.3°F
- Total population: 201,615
31. Fresno, CA
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 99.5°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 100.6°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 102.1°F
- Total population: 541,528
30. Bakersfield, CA
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 99.2°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 100.7°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 102.6°F
- Total population: 404,321
29. Pasadena, TX
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 101.6°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 100.6°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 101.0°F
- Total population: 150,620
28. Houston, TX
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 102.0°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 101.8°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 102.1°F
- Total population: 2,296,253
27. Corpus Christi, TX
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 102.9°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 101.8°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 103.3°F
- Total population: 317,804
26. Tucson, AZ
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 102.6°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 103.2°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 102.7°F
- Total population: 541,033
25. Las Vegas, NV
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 101.8°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 103.2°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 104.0°F
- Total population: 644,835
24. Laredo, TX
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 103.6°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 102.4°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 103.1°F
- Total population: 255,293
23. Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 103.7°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 104.1°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 101.7°F
- Total population: 182,673
22. Hollywood, FL
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 103.8°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 104.3°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 101.8°F
- Total population: 152,764
21. Miami, FL
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 103.9°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 104.7°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 102.0°F
- Total population: 443,665
20. North Las Vegas, NV
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 102.5°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 103.8°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 104.6°F
- Total population: 264,022
19. Tallahassee, FL
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 105.0°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 104.1°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 104.5°F
- Total population: 198,259
18. Port St. Lucie, FL
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 105.3°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 105.4°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 103.2°F
- Total population: 210,520
17. Hialeah, FL
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 105.7°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 105.9°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 103.8°F
- Total population: 222,996
16. Pembroke Pines, FL
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 105.7°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 105.9°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 103.7°F
- Total population: 170,472
15. Henderson, NV
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 104.5°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 105.8°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 106.6°F
- Total population: 318,063
14. Brownsville, TX
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 106.5°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 105.5°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 106.6°F
- Total population: 186,999
13. St. Petersburg, FL
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 105.3°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 106.9°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 106.5°F
- Total population: 259,343
12. Cape Coral, FL
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 105.7°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 106.7°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 106.8°F
- Total population: 198,912
11. Jacksonville, FL
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 108.1°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 106.9°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 105.5°F
- Total population: 950,203
10. Tampa, FL
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 106.9°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 108.5°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 107.8°F
- Total population: 388,768
9. Orlando, FL
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 109.1°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 109.1°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 107.1°F
- Total population: 307,738
8. Scottsdale, AZ
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 109.1°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 111.0°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 108.3°F
- Total population: 240,537
7. Peoria, AZ
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 109.2°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 111.2°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 108.4°F
- Total population: 191,292
6. Phoenix, AZ
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 111.2°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 113.1°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 110.8°F
- Total population: 1,609,456
5. Mesa, AZ
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 111.3°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 113.0°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 111.1°F
- Total population: 503,390
4. Gilbert, AZ
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 111.4°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 113.0°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 111.3°F
- Total population: 267,267
3. Glendale, AZ
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 111.9°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 113.8°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 111.6°F
- Total population: 248,083
2. Chandler, AZ
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 112.0°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 113.6°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 112.3°F
- Total population: 275,618
1. Tempe, AZ
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 19, 2024: 112.1°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 20, 2024: 113.9°F
- Forecasted heat index maximum for July 21, 2024: 112.1°F
- Total population: 181,005