Right now in Houston, the air is about 83°F, but the model estimates the asphalt under your dog's paws is closer to 96°F — a gap of roughly 13°F, because clear skies are pouring full sun onto every dark surface. That reading puts Houston 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 6 hours left today, the pavement in Houston is projected to top out near 96°F around 6 PM, when the air will be about 83°F — a 13°F gap between the forecast your weather app shows and the surface your dog walks on. The surface is already coming down, about 21°F over the next three hours, so waiting a little works in your favour here.
In an average October, Houston sees highs around 81°F and overnight lows near 64°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.
Houston 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 93°F against 63°F in January, a 29°F swing that decides how much of the day belongs to your dog.
Houston sits about 11 miles from Pasadena, TX, 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 Houston 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.