The City Manager's office activated all five public library branches as cooling centers on Monday, August 3 with Palo Alto temperatures to hit 95 degrees.
The National Weather Service issued a Heat Advisory running from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday, with inland temperatures across the region expected to reach 95 to 105 degrees. The city's hot weather advisory, published Sunday, August 2, warns that moderate HeatRisk will continue through Tuesday, ease slightly Wednesday, then intensify again Thursday through Saturday, August 8.
The five cooling centers, open during normal library hours, are:
- Children's Library, 1278 Harriet St. (Monday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.)
- College Terrace Library, 2300 Wellesley St.
- Downtown Library, 270 Forest Ave.
- Mitchell Park Library, 3700 Middlefield Rd.
- Rinconada Library, 1213 Newell Rd.
No registration is required.
The City Manager's office identified people without access to cooling, unhoused residents, seniors, and children as those at highest risk for heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and dehydration.
That warning carries particular weight in Palo Alto. According to Santa Clara County's 2025 Point-In-Time count, the city's unhoused population increased 113% from 2023. The cooling center program grew out of the city's Overnight Warming Location pilot, launched in 2024 for cold-weather events at the Downtown Library's El Camino Room. This summer, the city expanded the program to cover heat events at all five branches.
Other ways to cool off
Rinconada Pool is open to the public: the lap pool runs Monday through Friday, noon to 4:15 p.m., Saturday noon to 5 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The play pool is open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mitchell Park's water park feature is also available for children.
The city advises residents to avoid outdoor and strenuous activities between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. and to never leave people or pets in a closed, parked car.
Santa Clara County maintains a cooling center locator for additional locations beyond Palo Alto's libraries. The National Weather Service also warned of elevated to near-critical fire weather conditions above 1,000 feet during the heat event.
