Right now in El Cajon, the air is about 67°F, but the model estimates the asphalt under your dog's paws is closer to 67°F — the surface and air have nearly converged because the pavement is shedding the day's stored heat after dark. That reading puts El Cajon in the clear for an ordinary walk. Air temperature alone would have told you none of this — the pavement, not the forecast, is what your dog actually stands on.
Across the 19 hours left today, the pavement in El Cajon is projected to top out near 84°F around 1 PM, when the air will be about 67°F — a 17°F gap between the forecast your weather app shows and the surface your dog walks on. The surface is holding roughly flat over the next three hours, so there is no meaningfully cooler hour coming soon — choose shade and grass rather than waiting it out.
In an average October, El Cajon sees highs around 81°F and overnight lows near 58°F. Even at those moderate highs, a dark surface in direct sun can run 40–60°F hotter than the air, which is enough to tip midday walks into the caution range. For this month the normals suggest pavement rarely reaches unsafe temperatures here, but the seven-second hand test is still the final word on any given day.
El Cajon loses its all-day safe window in 5 months of the year — May through September — and October is not one of them. The year peaks in August at an average high of 87°F against 64°F in February, a 23°F swing that decides how much of the day belongs to your dog.
El Cajon sits about 13 miles from Chula Vista, close enough that the two usually run within a degree or two of each other — if your walk crosses between them, either page answers the question. Street-level conditions still differ more than city-level ones do: a shaded side street and an open parking lot half a block apart can be twenty degrees apart underfoot.
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. Conditions in El Cajon are on the gentler side right now, but keep the same habits: water before and after, grass over asphalt, and a close eye on flat-faced breeds, seniors, and puppies, who overheat and burn sooner than a healthy adult dog.