Summer hasn’t officially begun, but record-breaking heat is already sweeping parts of the country

The official start to summer may be days away, but much of the country is already experiencing peak-season heat as a dangerous combination of extreme temperatures, severe thunderstorms and flash flooding threatens tens of millions of people this weekend

The official start to summer may be days away, but much of the country is already experiencing peak-season heat as a dangerous combination of extreme temperatures, severe thunderstorms and flash flooding threatens tens of millions of people this weekend.

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An estimated 26 million people will experience extreme heat across the West, the Plains and the Southeast. Some areas — including Raleigh and Wilmington, North Carolina; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Tallahassee, Florida; Hattiesburg, Mississippi; and Tulsa, Oklahoma — could see temperatures reach as high as 108 degrees, with most daytime highs settling in the 90s. These readings are roughly 5 to 10 degrees above typical mid-June levels.

The West Coast is also bracing for rising temperatures, with highs climbing to 10 to 25 degrees above normal this weekend. Daytime temperatures will range from the 80s to over 100 across California, Oregon and Washington, with active heat alerts in effect for Bakersfield and Redding, California; Portland, Oregon; and Seattle.