Extreme heat can make everyday life harder fast. It can affect how well you sleep, how much energy you have, whether food stays safe, how your pets handle the day, and whether your home stays comfortable enough to be in.
A little planning before the hottest days can make a big difference. The goal is to know how you will stay cool, where you can go if your home gets too hot, how you will keep water available, and who may need a check-in.
Quick answer: how do I prepare for extreme heat?
To prepare for extreme heat, make a simple cooling plan before temperatures peak. Choose the coolest room in your home, block direct sun from windows, charge phones and power banks, freeze a few water bottles, refill important medications, and know where you could go if your home becomes too hot.
During the heat, slow down your schedule, avoid outdoor activity during the hottest part of the day, drink water regularly, wear loose and lightweight clothing, check on neighbors and pets, and watch for signs of heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
Why extreme heat deserves a plan
Heat can sneak up on people because it feels familiar. Most of us have been through hot days before, so it is easy to assume we will be fine. The risk increases when the heat lasts for several days, nights stay warm, humidity is high, your home holds heat, or the power goes out.
Extreme heat can be especially hard on older adults, infants, children, pregnant people, people with medical conditions, outdoor workers, people without reliable air conditioning, and people who have limited transportation or support.
A good heat plan helps you answer a few practical questions ahead of time:
- Where is the coolest place in my home?
- Where could I go if my home becomes too hot?
- Who should I check on?
- Who should check on me?
- What would I do if the power went out?
- What supplies would make the next few days easier?
Understand heat alerts
Heat alerts can help you decide when to adjust your plans. The National Weather Service explains heat watches, advisories, and warnings, including when conditions are dangerous enough to avoid outdoor activity, stay in air-conditioned spaces when possible, drink water, take shade breaks, and check on family and neighbors.
An Extreme Heat Watch means conditions are favorable for an extreme heat event, but the exact timing or severity is still uncertain. This is a good time to prepare your home, check supplies, and think through whether any outdoor plans should be changed.
A Heat Advisory means dangerous heat conditions are expected. Even if it does not sound as serious as a warning, it is still worth taking precautions.
An Extreme Heat Warning means extremely dangerous heat conditions are expected or already happening. Take protective action, especially if your household does not have reliable air conditioning or someone in your home is more vulnerable to heat.
Prepare your home before the heat peaks
Start by making your home easier to keep cool. Small steps can help, especially before the sun is strongest.
Close blinds, curtains, or shades on windows that get direct sun. According to Ready.gov’s extreme heat guidance, covering windows, weather-stripping doors and windows, and using window reflectors can help keep heat outside.
If you have air conditioning, check that it is working before the hottest part of the day. Replace or clean filters if needed. If you use a window unit, make sure the gaps around the unit are sealed.
If you rely on fans, pay attention to the indoor temperature. Fans can help move air and make a room feel more comfortable, but they may not be enough when indoor temperatures become dangerously high.
Choose one “cool room” where you can spend most of your time. Pick the room with the least direct sun, the best airflow, or the easiest access to air conditioning. Bring what you need into that space before the heat builds: water, medications, chargers, snacks, pet supplies, a flashlight, and anything else you would want nearby.
Make a cooling plan
Your cooling plan should include at least one place outside your home where you can go if your space becomes too hot.
That might be:
- A public library
- A community center
- A cooling center
- A friend or family member’s home
- A shaded public place
- A store, mall, or indoor public building
- A workplace or faith community with air conditioning
Write down the address, hours, transportation options, and whether pets are allowed. If you rely on public transportation, check the route before the heat peaks. If someone in your life may need help getting somewhere cool, talk through that plan ahead of time.
Overnight heat matters too. Your body needs a chance to cool down while you sleep. If your home stays hot overnight, consider sleeping in a cooler room, temporarily staying with someone who has air conditioning, or using a cooling center if one is available.
Stock heat supplies
A few basic supplies can make a heat wave easier to manage. Useful supplies include:
- Water
- Electrolyte drinks or packets
- Easy no-cook meals and snacks
- Reusable water bottles
- Ice packs
- A cooler
- Cooling towels or clean cloths
- Spray bottle for misting
- Battery-powered fan
- Portable power bank
- Flashlights or lanterns
- Thermometer for indoor temperature
- Pet water bowls
- Copies of medical and emergency contact information
Freeze a few water bottles before the hottest days. They can help keep a cooler cold, then become drinking water as they thaw.
Plan for medications, medical needs, and mobility
Heat affects everyone differently. Age, health conditions, medications, mobility, and access to cooling can all change how someone handles high temperatures.
Before a heat wave, refill essential prescriptions if you are running low. Ask your pharmacist whether any medications need to stay within a certain temperature range. If someone in your household uses powered medical equipment, charge backup batteries and know who to call if the power goes out.
If walking, driving, or taking public transportation is difficult in high heat, plan early. Even short trips can feel much harder when temperatures are high.
Adjust your schedule
During extreme heat, move errands, yard work, exercise, and outdoor tasks to the early morning or evening when possible. Try to avoid the hottest part of the day.
If you have to be outside, take frequent breaks in shade or air conditioning, drink water regularly, and wear loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing.
For outdoor workers, volunteers, caregivers, coaches, event organizers, and anyone responsible for a group, build in more breaks than usual. Make water easy to access, reduce the pace where possible, and make it normal for someone to speak up if they feel unwell.
Know the signs of heat illness
Heat illness can escalate quickly. The CDC’s heat-related illness guidance lists heat exhaustion symptoms such as headache, nausea, dizziness, weakness, irritability, thirst, heavy sweating, elevated body temperature, and decreased urine output. Heat stroke symptoms can include confusion, slurred speech, loss of consciousness, seizures, hot dry skin or heavy sweating, and very high body temperature.
Heat cramps may feel like painful muscle cramps or spasms, often in the legs, arms, or abdomen. Move to a cooler place, rest, and drink water or an electrolyte drink.
Heat exhaustion may include heavy sweating, weakness, tiredness, dizziness, nausea, headache, thirst, or fainting. Move the person to a cooler place, loosen clothing, apply cool wet cloths, and offer small sips of water if they are alert and not vomiting.
Heat stroke is a medical emergency. Call 911 right away if someone is confused, has slurred speech, loses consciousness, has a seizure, or has a very high body temperature. Move the person to a cooler place and begin cooling them while help is on the way.
Check on people and pets
Extreme heat is easier to get through when people look out for each other.
Check on older neighbors, people who live alone, families with young children, people without reliable air conditioning, outdoor workers, and anyone who may have trouble getting to a cooler place. A short text, phone call, or knock on the door can make a real difference.
For pets, keep fresh water available, limit walks to cooler parts of the day, test pavement with your hand, and never leave pets in parked cars. If your home feels too hot for you, it is probably too hot for them too. Check ahead of time to see which cooling options allow pets.
Prepare for a power outage during extreme heat
Power outages during heat waves can be stressful because they affect air conditioning, fans, refrigeration, medical devices, and communication tools.
Before the heat arrives:
- Charge phones, power banks, radios, and medical device batteries
- Freeze water bottles
- Keep a cooler ready
- Know how to manually open your garage door
- Keep flashlights accessible
- Save important phone numbers
- Know where you can go to cool down
- Sign up for local emergency alerts
If the power goes out, keep refrigerators and freezers closed as much as possible. Move to the coolest part of the home. Block sun from windows. Use battery-powered fans when they help you feel cooler, and leave for an air-conditioned location if your home becomes unsafe.
Keep food and water simple
Heat can lower your appetite and make cooking feel like a chore. Plan for simple meals that do not require turning on the oven.
Good options include sandwiches, wraps, fruit, cut vegetables, yogurt, hummus, crackers, nut butter, canned beans, tuna packets, salads, and other low-prep foods.
Drink water regularly, even before you feel very thirsty. If you are sweating heavily, working outside, or caring for others in the heat, electrolytes may help replace salt and fluids. People with medical conditions or fluid restrictions should follow medical guidance.
After the heat breaks
When temperatures finally drop, take a few minutes to reset.
Refill water bottles, wash cooling towels, recharge power banks, restock easy meals, and check in with anyone who may have had a hard time. Make a note of what worked and what needs to change.
Did one room stay cooler than the others? Did you need more water? Did your pet need a better cooling plan? Was transportation to a cooling center harder than expected?
Preparedness gets stronger through small adjustments. Each heat wave can teach you something useful for the next one.
Extreme heat checklist
Before extreme heat
- Check the forecast and local heat alerts
- Identify your coolest room
- Close blinds or curtains on sunny windows
- Charge phones and power banks
- Freeze water bottles
- Refill prescriptions
- Make a plan for pets
- Find your nearest cooling center or air-conditioned backup location
- Check on neighbors, family, and friends
- Move outdoor tasks to cooler hours
During extreme heat
- Stay in air conditioning when possible
- Drink water regularly
- Avoid outdoor activity during the hottest part of the day
- Wear loose, lightweight clothing
- Take breaks in shade or cool spaces
- Eat simple, low-cook meals
- Watch for signs of heat illness
- Never leave children, pets, or anyone vulnerable in a parked car
- Leave for a cooler place if your home becomes unsafe
After extreme heat
- Restock supplies
- Recharge devices
- Check on others
- Review what worked
- Update your cooling plan
More resources
Extreme heat preparation often connects to other parts of your household plan, especially cooling, water, power, and medical needs. These Ready for Unsteady guides can help you take the next step.
Extreme Heat Guide
For a broader overview of how to prepare your home, protect your health, and make a plan before temperatures rise, visit the Extreme Heat Guide.
Family Power Outage Checklist
Heat waves can strain the power grid, and outages during high temperatures can become dangerous quickly. Use the Family Power Outage Checklist to plan for backup lighting, charging, food safety, communication, and cooling options if the power goes out.
Emergency Water Guide
Staying hydrated is one of the simplest and most important parts of heat safety. The Emergency Water Guide covers how much water to store, where to keep it, and how to think through water needs for your household, pets, and disruptions.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
The best way to prepare for extreme heat is to make a cooling plan before temperatures peak. Know where you can cool down, keep your home shaded, charge devices, store water, avoid outdoor activity during the hottest part of the day, and check on people and pets who may need extra support.
If you do not have air conditioning, identify a public cooling option before the heat becomes dangerous. This could be a library, community center, cooling center, friend’s home, or other air-conditioned location. Keep windows covered during the day, use the coolest room in your home, and leave for a cooler place if indoor temperatures become unsafe.
Fans can help move air and make a room feel more comfortable, but they may not be enough when indoor temperatures are dangerously high. In very hot conditions, especially with high humidity or poor overnight cooling, an air-conditioned space may be necessary.
Heat stroke signs can include confusion, slurred speech, loss of consciousness, seizure, hot dry skin or heavy sweating, and very high body temperature. Heat stroke is a medical emergency. Call 911 and begin cooling the person while help is on the way.
People at higher risk include older adults, infants, children, pregnant people, people with medical conditions, outdoor workers, people without reliable air conditioning, people with limited transportation, and people in areas with less shade or green space. Anyone can develop heat illness, so it is important to check on others and respond quickly if symptoms appear.