GOV
Cooling Centers in the St. Louis Area
Cooling Centers are Local Resources for Providing Shelter from Excessive Summer Heat
The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the ability of public places traditionally serving as cooling center locations. Many locations are unable to serve as cooling centers as they are following precautions to reduce the exposure to, and slow the spread of, COVID-19 as directed by local health officials.
Some City of St. Louis Public Libraries are now open with reduced hours and a limit of 30 minutes for browsing shelves. Seating areas and meeting rooms are closed. They are not serving as traditional cooling centers but provide 30 minutes of respite from the heat.
During periods of extreme heat, we'll declare a heat emergency and open community centers as cooling centers. Please check on your neighbors and the elderly to make sure they're okay. Learn more about heat advisory definitions.
Important Heat Advisory Terms
Heat Wave: Three or more days of temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Excessive Heat Warning: Daytime highs of more than 105 degrees Fahrenheit for two or more hours.
Excessive Heat Advisory: the heat Index is expected to reach 105 degrees or air temperature will range from 100 – 104 for four or more consecutive days, or an Excessive Heat Warning is issued by the National Weather Service.
