Right now in Amarillo, the air is about 100°F, but the model estimates the asphalt under your dog's paws is closer to 126°F — a gap of roughly 26°F, because heavy cloud cover is taking some of the edge off the direct sun. That reading puts Amarillo in the danger range, where pavement can scald paw pads in under a minute. Air temperature alone would have told you none of this — the pavement, not the forecast, is what your dog actually stands on.
Across the 6 hours left today, the pavement in Amarillo is projected to top out near 126°F around 6 PM, when the air will be about 100°F — a 26°F gap between the forecast your weather app shows and the surface your dog walks on. The surface is already coming down, about 30°F over the next three hours, so waiting a little works in your favour here.
In an average August, Amarillo sees highs around 93°F and overnight lows near 71°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.
Amarillo 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 93°F against 50°F in January, a 43°F swing that decides how much of the day belongs to your dog.
The nearest city we track is Lubbock, roughly 114 miles from Amarillo — 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 Amarillo 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 Amarillo, 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.