Right now in Brownsville, the air is about 94°F, but the model estimates the asphalt under your dog's paws is closer to 121°F — a gap of roughly 27°F, because clear skies are pouring full sun onto every dark surface. That reading puts Brownsville 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 99°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 6 hours left today, the pavement in Brownsville is projected to top out near 121°F around 6 PM, when the air will be about 94°F — a 27°F gap between the forecast your weather app shows and the surface your dog walks on. The surface is already coming down, about 34°F over the next three hours, so waiting a little works in your favour here.
In an average August, Brownsville sees highs around 93°F and overnight lows near 80°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.
Brownsville loses its all-day safe window in 7 months of the year — April through October — and August is one of them. The year peaks in August at an average high of 93°F against 72°F in January, a 21°F swing that decides how much of the day belongs to your dog.
The nearest place we track is McAllen, about 50 miles away. That is close enough to move together in a heat wave but far enough that a passing cloud bank or a coastal breeze can put real distance between the two readings, so check Brownsville's own page rather than assuming.
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 Brownsville, 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.