'Searing' and 'stifling': Heat settling in across the U.S.

It's hot in the East. And in the Southwest. And in the Plains. And in the Midwest.

You get the idea.

As summer officially begins June 20, the National Weather Service forecast is sprinkled with words like "searing," "stifling" and "oppressive" to describe conditions across the country — as well as "severe," in the case of storms sparked by the heat, and warnings for even higher temperatures this weekend in some parts of the U.S.

The Southwest, Mountain West and High Plains regions are all dealing with "searing heat," the National Weather Service said, with potentially severe thunderstorms predicted for the Eastern U.S. Severe weather is also expected in the Northern Plains, Upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions.

A line of thunderstorms were possible late Thursday in the East, with the Storm Prediction Center issuing an enhanced risk level for severe weather along the I-95 corridor, including Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Baltimore and New York City. Damaging gusts, downpours, large hail and tornadoes are possible from Northern New England to the Carolinas.