Heat, cold, and the limits of a home plan

Staying home can be reasonable during a heat or cold event only while the home remains a safe place for the people and animals inside it. Leave or seek immediate help when an official evacuation order applies, the building is threatened or damaged, smoke or carbon monoxide is present, floodwater is entering, utilities are unsafe, indoor conditions cannot be controlled, or someone shows serious illness. Current local warnings and emergency instructions control the decision. A home plan is a starting point for support, not a promise that one indoor temperature or number of hours is safe for every household.

Start with the instruction that applies now

Check the current message from your local emergency management office, National Weather Service forecast office, utility, and public health authority. A heat warning is a take-action message. The National Weather Service heat alert guidance directs people to stay in air-conditioned space as much as possible, check on others, and use a cooling shelter or another air-conditioned location when the home is unsafe or does not have cooling. An evacuation order, shelter instruction, road closure, wildfire message, flood warning, or winter-storm direction can change the plan before comfort becomes the main question.

If officials tell you to leave, follow the stated route and destination. Take essential medicines, chargers, documents, food, water, and supplies for pets or service animals. Tell a support person where you are going. When time allows, confirm that the destination is accessible, open, reachable with your transportation, and able to accept animals or medical equipment. If waiting to confirm would put someone at risk, leave according to the official instruction and ask emergency personnel for help with the next safe destination.

Know the signs that need medical help

Heat can affect anyone. Infants and young children, older adults, pregnant people, people with chronic conditions, and people taking medicines affected by heat or dehydration may face added risk. The CDC guidance on heat and health lists heavy sweating, weakness, dizziness, headache, nausea, and shortness of breath among possible heat illness signs. Confusion, loss of consciousness, or suspected heat stroke calls for emergency medical help. Move the person to a cooler place while calling 911, and follow the dispatcher’s instructions.

Cold exposure can also become an emergency. The CDC winter-storm safety guidance advises taking emergency shelter, limiting outdoor time, and watching for hypothermia and frostbite. Hypothermia and frostbite need prompt medical attention. A person who is confused, unusually drowsy, weak, or losing normal coordination needs help rather than another household comfort measure. If a child, older adult, person with a disability, or animal cannot stay warm or communicate a need, move that person or animal to an appropriate location early.

Treat smoke, carbon monoxide, and fire as immediate boundaries

Leave the area and call emergency services when you see fire, smell smoke, or a carbon monoxide alarm sounds. Do not stay inside to finish a task or gather more supplies. If anyone has headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, chest pain, confusion, or trouble breathing after possible carbon monoxide exposure, get everyone into fresh air and call 911. Do not reenter until emergency personnel say it is safe.

Never use a gas range or oven to heat the home. Never use a generator, charcoal grill, camp stove, or similar combustion device indoors, in a garage, or near doors, windows, or vents. Carbon monoxide is an odorless gas that can build up without a warning smell. Fire risk also increases when people improvise heat near bedding, curtains, clothing, paper, or other combustible material. Follow the equipment instructions and fire authority guidance for any approved device, and stop using it if it is damaged or produces an unsafe condition.

The CDC power-outage safety guidance also warns against indoor generator use and identifies carbon monoxide and fire hazards during an outage. An outage is not only a comfort problem. It can affect heating, cooling, elevators, water systems, refrigeration, communications, and medical equipment. Check the utility's current status and report hazards through the utility or emergency service named in local instructions.

Decide whether the home can maintain a safe environment

Comfort and safety overlap, but they are not the same. A fan, extra layer, open window, shade, blanket, or cool drink may make a room feel more manageable. These steps do not make an unsafe building safe, replace medical care, remove smoke or carbon monoxide, or override an evacuation order. Ready.gov's extreme-heat guidance recommends planning for cooling and checking on people who may be more affected by heat.

For heat, consider whether the household can reach and remain in a space with effective cooling, safe drinking water, and a way to monitor each person. The CDC says fans can help when indoor temperatures are below 90°F, but above 90°F a fan can increase body temperature. If the room is above that point, do not rely on a fan as the only cooling method. Use air conditioning or move to a location with it when needed. Humidity, clothing, age, health, acclimatization, building design, and airflow also change how a person responds, so a single number cannot decide the plan for every household.

For cold, ask whether the home can provide safe warmth without combustion indoors, whether people can stay dry, and whether anyone needs a more accessible or medically supported location. Winter storms can bring power loss, blocked roads, falling branches, flooding, and dangerous outdoor travel. If the building cannot stay warm, someone is becoming cold or confused, or official instructions call for shelter elsewhere, move before travel becomes harder. Keep shoes, coats, mobility aids, and a charged communication device available if leaving may be necessary.

Include the people and animals who need an earlier decision

Make the check household by household, not room by room only. Ask whether each person can recognize a warning, communicate a need, move safely, drink enough, and remain in the current conditions. Include infants, older adults, pregnant people, people with chronic conditions or disabilities, and anyone who relies on electricity or refrigerated medicine. A person may need a cooler, warmer, more accessible, or medically supported place before symptoms become severe.

Medication and medical-device plans are individual. Do not stop or change medicine because of heat, cold, a power outage, or travel without direction from the prescriber or pharmacist. Follow the medicine label and equipment instructions, and contact the pharmacist, prescriber, utility, or equipment provider about storage, charging, backup power, and replacement needs. Keep a written list of medicines, device supplies, contact numbers, and the person who can help make decisions if the usual caregiver is unavailable.

Pets and service animals need their own plan. Watch for changes in behavior, breathing, coordination, activity, and ability to drink or stay warm. Bring food, water, medicines, leashes, carriers, identification, and service-animal supplies. Cooling centers, warming shelters, transportation, and animal policies vary by place and event. Confirm the destination and animal policy when time allows, and ask emergency personnel for help if an animal cannot be moved safely by the household.

If children or older adults need extra time or assistance, the related resource Leaving with children or older adults can help you identify support needs before an event. Do not wait for a generic timer if the person cannot stay safe in the current conditions.

Plan for cooling and warming locations

A cooling or warming location can be a public shelter, community facility, relative's home, workplace, or another place named by local officials. The right choice depends on current instructions, accessibility, transportation, hours, power, medical support, and animal policy. Write down two possible destinations if your household can reach them, then verify which one is open during the event.

Before leaving, check the route and current road conditions. Take water, food, medicines, chargers, documents, communication devices, and mobility or animal supplies. Keep a support person informed. If a person is already showing serious symptoms, call emergency services rather than trying to solve the situation with an ordinary ride. If an evacuation order or dangerous condition applies, follow the official route and do not take an unapproved shortcut.

Some trips are restricted during shelter-in-place instructions. Read An essential trip during a shelter-in-place emergency for the boundaries that can affect a necessary departure. The current order and emergency personnel control what is allowed during a specific event.

Prepare for a power loss without creating a new hazard

Power loss can remove heating or cooling at the same time that roads, elevators, phone service, or water systems are affected. Keep flashlights, charged communication devices, batteries, water, shelf-stable food, blankets, and weather-appropriate clothing where you can reach them safely. Place a carbon monoxide alarm according to its instructions, and know how to report an outage or downed line.

Do not connect equipment in a way that can send electricity back through household wiring. Do not bring a generator into a home or garage, and keep it away from openings according to the manufacturer's instructions. Keep refrigerators and freezers closed as much as possible, but do not take food, medicine, or device decisions from a general assumption. Follow product labels and contact the responsible provider for individual storage or power needs.

If cooking is part of the outage plan, separate food preparation from indoor heating. Cooking when usual appliances are unavailable covers the safety boundary around combustion, food, and temporary equipment. Do not improvise a cooking or heating arrangement inside because the usual appliance is unavailable.

Make the next check specific

When conditions are calm, write the names of people and animals who may need an earlier move, the medicines or devices that need power or controlled storage, the transportation available, and two possible cooling or warming locations. Add the local emergency-management, utility, public health, and emergency service contacts. A household support map can help assign transport, check-in, and care roles before a disruption.

During an event, repeat the check when the warning, power status, symptoms, building condition, or transportation changes. A plan remains useful only while it matches the conditions around the household. Move to appropriate help when the home cannot maintain a safe environment, when an official order changes the choice, or when a person or animal shows serious illness. You do not need to wait for a universal temperature or timer to act.

Questions households often ask

The next practical check is simple: read the current local warning, look at the people and animals first, confirm the hazards around the home, and identify the place you will use if the home plan stops being enough. Keep the decision tied to official instructions and the actual condition of your household, not to a generic timer.

Glossary