Right now in Wilmington, the air is about 81°F, but the model estimates the asphalt under your dog's paws is closer to 117°F — a gap of roughly 36°F, because clear skies are pouring full sun onto every dark surface. That reading puts Wilmington in the caution range, where short, shade-hugging walks are the most a paw should take. Humidity is nudging the human "feels-like" to about 87°F, which matters for your dog too: muggy air makes it harder for a panting dog to shed heat, so treat a borderline reading as the hotter of the two.
Across the 13 hours left today, the pavement in Wilmington is projected to top out near 132°F around 3 PM, when the air will be about 86°F — a 45°F gap between the forecast your weather app shows and the surface your dog walks on. The surface is still gaining — up about 12°F over the next three hours — so a walk taken now is cooler than the same walk later this afternoon.
In an average August, Wilmington sees highs around 86°F and overnight lows near 74°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. As a seasonal rule of thumb, the safest windows are before about 11:00 AM and after about 4:00 PM.
Wilmington 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 87°F against 57°F in January, a 30°F swing that decides how much of the day belongs to your dog.
The nearest city we track is Fayetteville, roughly 77 miles from Wilmington — 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 Wilmington 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 Wilmington, 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.