Memphis Heat Map Reveals Neighborhoods Facing Severe Heat Burden

Last summer, Memphis volunteers turned their cars into mobile weather stations and proved what a lot of locals already suspected: some neighborhoods are cooking. The one-day, community-run Heat Watch campaign clocked a high of 102°F and found roughly a 14.4°F gap between the hottest and coolest parts of the city. Over the course of the day, 78 volunteers strapped sensors to vehicles and collected more than 131,000 measurements along 18 routes covering about 200 square miles, tracing both brutal hot spots and cooler, tree-shaded refuges. All of it is playing out against a steep local energy burden that leaves many households exposed to both health and financial strain when temperatures spike.