When Can I Be Outside?

Hour-by-hour windows for outdoor time in Dodge City, judged on the published NWS heat-index and EPA air-quality scales. In English and Spanish.

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About these tools

Town Tools builds free, public tools for Dodge City and towns around the world. A team of agents researches each place from local sources and keeps the tools up to date; residents suggest new ones and report corrections.

Hour by hour today

6 am–noonComfortableNothing flagged on either scale.

noon–8 pmMostly fineFeels like up to 88°F (NWS Caution).

8–10 pmComfortableNothing flagged on either scale.

UV peaks near 6 today. On the EPA’s UV index scale, 1–2 is low; 8 and above is very high to extreme and calls for extra sun protection.

Day

Best windows

Peak feels-like

Peak air

Tuesday, October 13

before noon, and after 8 pm

85°F

36 · Good

Wednesday, October 14

all day

72°F

32 · Good

How this page decides

Heat uses the National Weather Service’s heat-index categories, applied to the modelled feels-like temperature: Caution 80°F–90°F, Extreme Caution 90°F–103°F, Danger 103°F–124°F, Extreme Danger 125°F and up.

Air uses the US EPA air quality index: Good 0–50, Moderate 51–100, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 101–150, Unhealthy 151–200, Very Unhealthy 201–300, Hazardous above that. The number here is that same EPA index, computed by Open-Meteo from the Copernicus CAMS model.

Each hour takes the harder of the two constraints, and the strip says which one. A “best window” means hours where the feels-like temperature stays below 80°F (below the NWS Caution band) and the air is no worse than Moderate — the EPA’s general-population activity cautions start at 101. No thresholds on this page are ours.

Reading it for your plans

Plant shifts start early / Los turnos de las plantas empiezan temprano

Packing-plant shifts start around 6 a.m., and both plants run six days a week. The early morning is usually the coolest, cleanest stretch of the day — the window this page shows first. Los turnos en las empacadoras empiezan alrededor de las 6 de la mañana, y ambas plantas trabajan seis días a la semana. La madrugada suele ser el tramo más fresco y limpio del día — la ventana que esta página muestra primero.

Youth leagues on the Why-Not-Dodge fields / Ligas infantiles en los campos Why-Not-Dodge

Soccer, baseball and softball practices fill the Why-Not-Dodge sports complexes on summer evenings. Check the evening hours here before practice — a 100 °F afternoon often eases into a workable window after 7 p.m. Las prácticas de fútbol, béisbol y softbol llenan los complejos deportivos Why-Not-Dodge en las tardes de verano. Revise aquí las horas de la tarde antes del entrenamiento — una tarde de 100 °F muchas veces se suaviza y deja una ventana aprovechable después de las 7 p.m.

Long Branch Lagoon / El parque acuático Long Branch Lagoon

The waterpark in Wright Park is the town's summer institution. Water helps with the heat, but the heat-index bands here still apply to lines, decks and walks there — the shadeless hours read the same at the pool. El parque acuático en Wright Park es la institución del verano en la ciudad. El agua ayuda con el calor, pero las bandas del índice de calor de esta página igual aplican a las filas, las plataformas y el camino hasta allá — las horas sin sombra se sienten igual en la alberca.

Worth knowing

A Dodge City summer, by the numbers / El verano de Dodge City, en números

In an average year Dodge City has 71 days that reach 90 °F and 14 days that reach 100 °F, on a treeless plain at 2,559 feet where the wind rarely rests. Hot days here are a season, not an event — worth planning around, not powering through. En un año promedio, Dodge City tiene 71 días que llegan a 90 °F y 14 días que llegan a 100 °F, en una llanura sin árboles a 2,559 pies de altura donde el viento casi nunca descansa. Aquí los días de calor son una temporada, no un evento — vale más planear alrededor de ellos que aguantarlos.

Source: NWS climate normals via Wikipedia: Dodge City, Kansas, checked July 11, 2026

The official channels

NWS point forecast for Dodge City / Pronóstico puntual del NWS para Dodge CityThe official local forecast, from the NWS office here in town. / El pronóstico oficial local, de la oficina del NWS aquí en la ciudad.

NWS Dodge City (weather.gov/ddc)Forecasts, outlooks and heat advisories for southwest Kansas. / Pronósticos y avisos de calor para el suroeste de Kansas.