“Thunderstruck”. Summer stom. A super cell formed off the coast of New Zealand, intensified and swept across Christchurch and North Canterbury, February 23, 2014. Photo location: Christchurch, New Zealand. (Photo and caption by David Hardy/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Walkers cross the river Waalbrug during the first day of the 98th annual four-days walking event, the “Vierdaagse” in Nijmegen, Netherlands, July 15, 2014. The “Nijmeegse Vierdaagse” is an annual public four-day field march which is held since 1909 in the third week of July. (Photo by Erik van 't Wout/EPA)

The northeastern United States sweltered this week in a scorching summer heat wave, complete with stagnant, sticky air and no winds for relief, forecasters said. Even in a summer already filled with stretches of very hot weather, this week will be stubbornly brutal, with no relief in sight until the weekend brings thunderstorms to the region, they said. "Plain and simple, this week may feel the worst of any week for this summer in the Northeast," said Accuweather.com meteorologist Alex Sosnowski. (Reuters)

Poland's Dawid Kubacki soars through the air during the men's FIS Ski Jumping World Cup competition in Engelberg, central Switzerland, on December 20, 2014. (Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP Photo)

Two young boys kneel on stools on either side of a round table as one uses a match to this the other's cigarette, November 12, 1928. (Photo by FPG/Getty Images)

The villas of Marabe Al Dhafra in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates are home to approximately 2,000 people. Located in one of the hottest regions of the world, the record high temperature here is 49.2C° (120.6F°). (Photo by Benjamin Grant/Penguin Random House)

A Bangladeshi girl plays on a swing, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, December 27, 2016. (Photo by Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters)

The Villarrica Volcano is seen at night in Chile, April 16, 2016. Villarrica is one of Chile's most active volcanoes. Picture taken with long exposure. (Photo by Cristobal Saavedra/Reuters)