Right now in Laredo, the air is about 101°F, but the model estimates the asphalt under your dog's paws is closer to 106°F — a gap of roughly 5°F, because clear skies are pouring full sun onto every dark surface. That reading puts Laredo in the caution range, where short, shade-hugging walks are the most a paw should take. Air temperature alone would have told you none of this — the pavement, not the forecast, is what your dog actually stands on.
Across the 4 hours left today, the pavement in Laredo is projected to top out near 106°F around 8 PM, when the air will be about 101°F — a 5°F gap between the forecast your weather app shows and the surface your dog walks on. The surface is already coming down, about 16°F over the next three hours, so waiting a little works in your favour here.
In an average August, Laredo sees highs around 100°F and overnight lows near 80°F. That is genuinely dangerous territory for daytime walks: at those highs, midday asphalt in full sun can push well past 130°F, hot enough to blister a paw pad in seconds. As a seasonal rule of thumb, the safest windows are before about 9:00 AM and after about 6:00 PM.
Laredo loses its all-day safe window in 8 months of the year — March through October — and August is one of them. The year peaks in August at an average high of 100°F against 70°F in January, a 31°F swing that decides how much of the day belongs to your dog.
The nearest city we track is McAllen, roughly 120 miles from Laredo — 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 Laredo 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 Laredo, 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.