Greensboro launches Orange Flag cooling plan for dangerous heat

Greensboro is putting a real address behind its heat warnings: the Interactive Resource Center at 407 E. Washington St. will open overnight from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. whenever the city’s Orange Flag is activated, giving single adults and families a place to cool down when the Triad’s nights stay too warm to recover.

The trigger is specific. Greensboro Community Safety Department staff will activate Orange Flag on days when daytime temperatures are forecast at 90 degrees or higher and overnight lows are not expected to fall below 70 degrees. Elizabeth Danley, with the department, said the concern is not just the daytime heat but the lack of nighttime relief, when the body normally gets a chance to recover. The city is aiming that overnight option at people experiencing homelessness, but says it can also be used by residents whose circumstances make them especially vulnerable, including people whose air conditioning has failed.

The Orange Flag program is part of the Guilford County Continuum of Care, and it mirrors Greensboro’s White Flag system, which opens warming centers during dangerous cold. That same trigger-based approach now extends to summer heat, signaling that the city sees extreme temperatures as a recurring public safety issue rather than a one-day warning.

Greensboro has also widened daytime relief. Beginning Saturday, June 6, the city opened a weekend cooling center at the IRC from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday through the end of August. Weekday cooling centers are listed at the IRC from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, Glenwood Together at 1310 Glenwood Ave. from noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and the Tiny House Community Development HOPE Center on Gate City Blvd. from 8 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday.

The city has paired those spaces with hydration stations, including one at Greensboro Police Headquarters downtown, where people can stop for water while out in the heat. Officials say extreme heat can be especially dangerous for children, older adults, people with special needs and pets, and can lead to heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

Residents are also directed to Guilford County’s cooling station guide, and the city says pools, spraygrounds and libraries can offer relief. Greensboro had already marked the issue in 2025 by proclaiming July 27 through August 2 as Heat Awareness Week and urging residents to follow Guilford Emergency Alert Notifications, a sign that the city is trying to make heat response part of its everyday emergency playbook, not just a symbolic warning.