Extreme Heat Wave

Why it matters

What Extreme Heat Wave would mean for you

Three numbers decide how important Extreme Heat Wave is to your preparedness planning. Impact and Likelihood are general baselines. Vulnerability depends on how prepared you are for this threat.

ImpactMajor7/9

NegligibleCatastrophic

Heat is a quiet killer, especially for the elderly, the isolated, and those without cooling - an unprepared household can suffer heatstroke and death, keeping the Impact high.

LikelihoodPossible5/9

RareFrequent

Dangerous heat is near-annual across the South and steadily worsening, but for a typical U.S. household a health-threatening heat wave runs closer to an every-few-years event - so the national baseline sits mid-scale and the county layer lifts it sharply where summers are hot.

VulnerabilityNot rated

NegligibleCatastrophic

This number is yours. It measures how hard Extreme Heat Wave would actually hit your household given what you already have in place. Rate it in Threat Planning — then all three multiply into your personal threat rating.

Rate it in Threat Planning →

General baselines — How we rate threats →

Be ready

Preparing for Extreme Heat Wave

Concrete moves that lower your Vulnerability. Add any of them and we'll track it as an action on your threat list.

Add to my threat list

Identify a way to keep at least one room cool, power or not.

Store extra water and know the signs of heat illness.

Keep a check-in list for elderly or vulnerable neighbors.

Plan for power loss during peak demand.

See it on the map