As the East Coast braces for severe thunderstorms, record heat sears the South

Meteorologists are warning millions of people across the East Coast to brace for major thunderstorms and other severe weather beginning Monday afternoon.

A strong storm system moving in from the Midwest and Great Lakes region ahead of a cold front is putting a large swath of the eastern U.S. at “enhanced” risk for severe weather, from Atlanta to Binghamton, N.Y.

Enhanced risk — a level 3 out of 5 on the National Weather Service scale — means numerous severe storms are possible across the area.