FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE · June 19, 2026
WetBulbTracker Launches to Make the World's Deadliest Weather Hazard Finally Legible — for Anyone, Anywhere
*A free, scientifically validated heat-stress platform turns the number that safety boards, the military, and athletic associations rely on into a clear, personal answer: is it safe for me, right here, right now?*
**Download the press release (PDF)**
COLUMBIA, Mo. — June 19, 2026 — WetBulbTracker today announced the public launch of WetBulbTracker.com, a free web platform that shows people the heat their body actually has to contend with — not just the temperature on a thermometer. As record heat becomes the norm and extreme-heat events grow more frequent and more lethal, WetBulbTracker brings a rigorous, research-grade measure of heat danger — wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) — to everyone, on a seamless global map, in plain language.
Air temperature alone is a poor guide to danger. What decides whether heat is survivable is whether the body can still shed heat through sweat — and that depends on humidity, wind, and direct sun as much as temperature. The same 95°F can be a pleasant dry afternoon or a medical emergency. WBGT captures all of it in a single, honest number. It is the standard the U.S. military, OSHA, and athletic governing bodies use to decide when it is no longer safe to be outside — yet until now it has lived in safety manuals and research papers, out of public reach.
> "The thermometer tells you the temperature of the air. We tell you the danger," said Tim McCarty, founder of WetBulbTracker. "Heat is one of the deadliest weather hazards, oftentimes more than floods, hurricanes or cold in any given year. Yet, the number that measures this danger the best has been hard to find. It's been hidden from the people it could help inform and protect. We built WetBulbTracker to change that. Our tool makes a validated, research-grade measure of heat stress that's accurate, transparent and personal, and easily accessible to everyone. Our mission is simple: answering for anyone, anywhere, is it safe for me, right here, right now?"
Built for accuracy, open for scrutiny
WetBulbTracker computes WBGT using the full Liljegren et al. (2008) iterative energy-balance model — the validated reference method, not a rough approximation — solving for black-globe and natural wet-bulb temperatures from live weather inputs. The platform continuously cross-checks itself in public against the U.S. National Weather Service's own published WBGT, with results shown openly on a live accuracy dashboard, and publishes its complete methodology — every formula, constant, and assumption — for anyone to scrutinize.
What makes WetBulbTracker different
- A seamless global heat map. A smooth, interpolated heat field for the entire planet. Pan and zoom anywhere; tap any point for its exact reading.
- Six ways to read the heat. Heat Stress (WBGT), Real Feel, Mugginess, Heat Index, and Wet Bulb — plus plain Air Temp as a reference — so you can switch instantly to the lens that matters to you.
- Sun vs. shade, where you actually are. A first-of-its-kind toggle shows how much direct sun adds to your heat load versus standing in full shade — a real, physics-based difference that can span multiple danger tiers.
- "Safe for me" personalization. An optional, private profile — age, heat acclimatization, activity level, and health sensitivities — produces a separate personal-risk read alongside the objective number, grounded in established heat-physiology and occupational guidance.
- Heat alerts that reach you first. Opt-in push notifications warn you when WBGT is forecast to cross a danger threshold at your saved locations — turning a check-in tool into an early-warning system that looks out for you and the people you care about.
- Every major city, one tap away. Dedicated live pages for dozens of U.S. cities — each showing that place's current heat stress at a glance — alongside the global map that covers everywhere else on Earth.
- A plain-language AI brief. A short, time-aware, now-personalized summary of what conditions mean and what's coming — written for humans, not meteorologists.
- Forecasts and history. A 7-day and hour-by-hour outlook with the day's hottest window marked, plus "this day in history" placing today against 35 years of climate record.
- Free tools and plain-language guides. A built-in WBGT and wet-bulb calculator, and a growing library of explainers that demystify heat stress for everyone.
- Installable, shareable, and free. Works on any device, installs to your home screen, runs offline on your last view, and every place is a shareable link. No account, no paywall.
A platform that gets smarter over time
WetBulbTracker continuously records its own estimates against independent reference observations, building a growing, retained dataset that lets the platform measure and correct its systematic bias — and, over time, refine the underlying models. Accuracy is treated not as a one-time claim but as an ongoing, transparent commitment.
> "We treat accuracy as an open and transparent promise, not a one-time claim," McCarty added. "By validating our results publicly and investing in the data that sharpens it over time, we are building a platform that earns trust and continues to improve."
Availability
WetBulbTracker is available now, free, at WetBulbTracker.com on any modern browser and as an installable app on mobile and desktop. A free optional account syncs saved locations and preferences across devices.
WetBulbTracker provides informational estimates, is not a guarantee of safety, and is not a substitute for official warnings or professional medical advice. Always follow guidance from your local authorities and weather service.
About WetBulbTracker
WetBulbTracker is on a mission to make heat danger legible to everyone, everywhere — accurate, honest, and free. By combining a validated heat-stress methodology with hyper-local environmental context and personal risk factors, the platform answers the question that matters most on a hot day: *is it safe for me, right here, right now?*
Web: wetbulbtracker.com Media contact: info@wetbulbtracker.com About: wetbulbtracker.com/info Methodology & live accuracy: wetbulbtracker.com/explore