How the heat index works

The heat index combines air temperature and humidity into a single "feels like" number. When humidity is high, sweat evaporates slowly, so your body cannot shed heat and the air feels hotter than the thermometer reads. This tool uses theNWS Rothfusz regression, the published equation the National Weather Service uses for its heat advisories, so the result matches the official NWS heat-index table. The four risk bands — Caution (80–90°F), Extreme Caution (90–103°F), Danger (103–124°F), and Extreme Danger (125°F+) — are the NWS's own categories. Indoors, the same physics is why keepinghumidity in the 30–50% rangemakes a warm room feel cooler, and why ahigh dew point feels so oppressive.