Late Summer Heat Wave to Bring Last Bout of Extreme Heat Risk to These Cities

By Evan Comen • August 21, 2025

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While the worst of summer is over in a majority of the country, one of the last bouts of extreme heat risk will occur in the Southwest this weekend. A broad ridge of high pressure is moving west to east, raising daytime temperatures from Arizona to North Dakota and putting millions of Americans at risk.

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In an effort to model heat risk, the National Weather Service publishes a daily HeatRisk forecast, a composite metric measuring temperatures, humidity, duration of heat, and how unusual heat is for the time of year in a given geography. NWS guidance shows that heat risk will peak on Friday, then dissipate over the following several days. Small pockets of the Southwest will experience extreme heat risk, putting all population groups at risk of health-related illness. A closer look at the data reveals the cities with the greatest heat risk this weekend.

To determine the cities with the highest heat risk this weekend, Climate Crisis 247 reviewed data on heat risk from the NOAA’s National Weather Service. Cities were ranked based on average NWS HeatRisk score for the period August 21 to 23, 2025. Supplemental data on forecast temperature maximums are from the NOAA’s National Digital Forecast Database. Only cities with at least 50,000 residents were considered. Population data is from the U.S. Census Bureau.

25. Davie, FL

Photo by Ken Okum on Unsplash

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.9°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.0°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 2.83/4 (high of 94.1°F)
Total population: 105,821

24. Surprise, AZ

Photo by FollowersofTheShepherd on Unsplash

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 2.85/4 (high of 110.5°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 111.2°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 110.1°F)
Total population: 145,591

23. Mesa, AZ

Photo by Kyle Johnson on Unsplash

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 2.70/4 (high of 110.0°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.08/4 (high of 110.9°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 3.08/4 (high of 110.1°F)
Total population: 503,390

22. Miami Gardens, FL

Photo by Johannes Belz on Pexels

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.9°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.0°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 2.90/4 (high of 94.1°F)
Total population: 111,618

21. Miramar, FL

Photo by FRA v on Pexels

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 2.94/4 (high of 95.6°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.7°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.9°F)
Total population: 135,158

20. Coral Springs, FL

Photo by Luiz Cent on Unsplash

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.9°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.9°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.9°F)
Total population: 133,801

19. Margate, FL

Photo by Karthik D on Pexels

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.9°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 95.3°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.9°F)
Total population: 58,396

18. Tamarac, FL

Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.9°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.9°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.9°F)
Total population: 71,578

17. Coconut Creek, FL

Photo by Richard Sagredo on Unsplash

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.9°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.9°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.0°F)
Total population: 57,574

16. Sunrise, FL

Photo by Sunita Azore on Unsplash

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.7°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.0°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.2°F)
Total population: 96,510

15. Lauderhill, FL

Photo by Del Adams on Pexels

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.9°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.6°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.2°F)
Total population: 73,987

14. Plantation, FL

Photo by Kristin Craze on Unsplash

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.9°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.0°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.0°F)
Total population: 93,130

13. Tamiami, FL

Photo by Sela Hatting on Pexels

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.7°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.0°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.4°F)
Total population: 52,851

12. Country Club, FL

Photo by Josh Sorenson on Pexels

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.9°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.3°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.9°F)
Total population: 50,975

11. Hialeah, FL

Photo by Thomas Koukas on Unsplash

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.9°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.3°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.6°F)
Total population: 222,996

10. Doral, FL

Photo by On Shot on Pexels

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.9°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.4°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 94.9°F)
Total population: 74,891

9. Buckeye, AZ

Photo by Brandon Russell on Unsplash

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 2.68/4 (high of 111.2°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.17/4 (high of 112.1°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 3.15/4 (high of 110.9°F)
Total population: 95,042

8. Gilbert, AZ

Photo by Dianna Sarmiento on Unsplash

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 2.97/4 (high of 110.9°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.03/4 (high of 111.3°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 3.03/4 (high of 110.6°F)
Total population: 267,267

7. Henderson, NV

Photo by Jessica Kirkpatrick on Unsplash

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 2.73/4 (high of 108.1°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.32/4 (high of 109.3°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 3.29/4 (high of 109.3°F)
Total population: 318,063

6. St. George, UT

Photo by Claire Press on Unsplash

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 2.57/4 (high of 106.9°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.43/4 (high of 108.6°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 3.43/4 (high of 108.3°F)
Total population: 96,174

5. Tempe, AZ

Photo by Sid Siv on Unsplash

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 110.5°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.23/4 (high of 111.0°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 3.23/4 (high of 110.5°F)
Total population: 181,005

4. Ogden, UT

Photo by Chase Charaba on Unsplash

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 99.9°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.32/4 (high of 97.2°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 3.21/4 (high of 96.9°F)
Total population: 86,754

3. Enterprise, NV

Photo by Tuğba on Pexels

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 2.90/4 (high of 107.2°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.36/4 (high of 108.5°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 3.36/4 (high of 108.7°F)
Total population: 225,461

2. Spring Valley, NV

Photo by Ricky Esquivel on Pexels

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 3.00/4 (high of 106.9°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.59/4 (high of 108.2°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 3.59/4 (high of 108.5°F)
Total population: 220,114

1. Goodyear, AZ

Photo by Stephen Crane on Unsplash

NWS HeatRisk score, August 21, 2025: 3.05/4 (high of 112.1°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 22, 2025: 3.59/4 (high of 112.9°F)
NWS HeatRisk score, August 23, 2025: 3.59/4 (high of 112.2°F)
Total population: 97,542

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