Summer is days away, but 54 million face 108-degree heat, hail, and midnight tornadoes

The calendar still has several days left before summer begins, but conditions across much of the United States already look dangerous.

Going into the weekend, tens of millions face a volatile mix of threats, including triple-digit heat, severe storms, flash flooding, and tornadoes overnight.

What's happening?

According to NBC News, the country is being hit by two major weather hazards at once: extreme heat across the West, Plains, and Southeast, and severe storms organizing from the central U.S. and pushing toward the East Coast.

About 26 million people are expected to deal with dangerous heat, and parts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Oklahoma could see temperatures as high as 108 degrees.

In the far West, the heat is also projected to run well above average. Parts of California, Oregon, and Washington are forecast to be 10 to 25 degrees hotter than normal, with heat alerts in places such as Bakersfield, Redding, Portland, and Seattle.

NBC News also reported a severe-storm risk for roughly 22 million people stretching from Texas to Kentucky. In parts of Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, forecasters warned that evening storms could bring damaging winds, large hail, flash flooding, and tornadoes that continue after midnight.

Parts of the mid-Atlantic, Appalachians, and Ohio Valley, including New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, could also be in line for storms, putting up to 54 million people at risk.

Why does it matter?

This kind of one-two punch is especially dangerous because both heat and severe storms can turn deadly in a short period of time.

Triple-digit temperatures raise the risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, particularly for older adults, children, outdoor workers, and people without reliable access to cooling.

The latest system arrives after earlier severe weather had already caused widespread disruption, including flood watches affecting 13 million people and outages that left about 35,000 Kansas customers without power.

NBC News said some of the recent temperature swings may be connected to El Niño, the tropical Pacific climate pattern that raises surface temperatures and can intensify warming linked to climate change.

What can I do?

Recommended steps in affected areas include limiting strenuous outdoor activity during peak heat, checking on neighbors, keeping phones charged, and making sure there are multiple ways to receive weather alerts. If flooding is possible, avoid driving through water-covered roads.

If you live in an area vulnerable to outages, going solar is one of the best ways to make your home more resilient while also protecting yourself against rising energy prices.

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