Houston and Dallas have opened cooling centers across their metropolitan areas for people to escape the heat.
Houston-area cooling centers
With temperatures forecast in the upper 90’s all week, and heat indexes making it feel like it’s in the mid-100’s, the City of Houston has activated its heat emergency plan to provide cool places for people to spend hours or the day.
Most of the locations are libraries. Some run regular business hours, as early as 8 a.m. to around 4, 5, or 6:00 p.m. Others stay open as late as 9 p.m. The cooling centers are open different days, with many being closed on weekends or having certain days open.
Click here to locate a Houston-area cooling center near you.
To arrange for transportation to a designated cooling center in Houston, call 3-1-1.
Dallas-area cooling centers
In the Dallas area, Salvation Army has opened cooling stations. According to CBS DFW, centers have weekday business hours, except for the homeless shelters, which provide cooling seven days a week.
Locate a Dallas-area cooling station here.
Planning for heat safety
The Houston Fire Department has many suggestions for heat safety, including:
- drinking water before going outside,
- wearing light, loose clothing,
- avoiding leaving children, seniors, or pets in hot cars, and
- working early in the day to avoid the heat.
Heat exhaustion or heat stroke can be caused by too much exposure to the heat and/or not enough fluids. Learn more about the symptoms for these two illnesses here.
Deaf heat safety video
Watch an American Sign Language Extreme Heat Emergency Information Video.
The video was produced by the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Northeast Texas Public Health District.
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