Right now in Chico, the air is about 83°F, but the model estimates the asphalt under your dog's paws is closer to 112°F — a gap of roughly 29°F, because clear skies are pouring full sun onto every dark surface. That reading puts Chico in the caution range, where short, shade-hugging walks are the most a paw should take. Air temperature alone would have told you none of this — the pavement, not the forecast, is what your dog actually stands on.
Across the 14 hours left today, the pavement in Chico is projected to top out near 141°F around 2 PM, when the air will be about 99°F — a 42°F gap between the forecast your weather app shows and the surface your dog walks on. The surface is still gaining — up about 26°F over the next three hours — so a walk taken now is cooler than the same walk later this afternoon.
In an average August, Chico sees highs around 99°F and overnight lows near 69°F. At highs like that, sun-baked pavement can easily top 120–130°F by early afternoon, so the walkable hours cluster around dawn and after sunset. As a seasonal rule of thumb, the safest windows are before about 9:00 AM and after about 6:00 PM.
Chico loses its all-day safe window in 6 months of the year — April through September — and August is one of them. The year peaks in July at an average high of 101°F against 55°F in December, a 46°F swing that decides how much of the day belongs to your dog.
The nearest city we track is Roseville, roughly 74 miles from Chico — far enough that its reading is no substitute for this one. Sun angle, humidity and cloud cover can all differ across that distance, which is why this page models Chico on its own coordinates.
Whatever the number says, confirm it with your hand: press the back of it flat on the pavement for seven seconds. If you can't hold it there, neither can your dog. On a day reading this warm in Chico, flat-faced breeds like pugs and bulldogs, plus seniors and young puppies with thinner pads, should sit out the heat entirely — subtract about 10°F from any safe threshold for them. If you must cross hot ground, protective booties or a quick coat of paw wax are the only real barrier between paw pads and the asphalt.