The heat suffocating the Midwest is expanding east, forecasters said Thursday, as signs of the hot, muggy weather -- buckled roads -- have literally started to pop up.

"Record breaking heat across the Midwest is expected to spread into the eastern U.S. by the weekend," the National Weather Service warned -- bad news for the 600,000 homes and businesses still without power from Ohio to Virginia after last weekend's storms.

On top of that, storms overnight caused power outages to 250,000 homes and businesses in Michigan.

In Chicago, temps reached 103 degrees on Thursday before a sudden storm cooled the city with a downpour. 

Atlanta reached 100 -- the third time so far this year.

More normal temperatures should return next week when the extreme heat is forecast to move west, bringing triple-digit temperatures to parts of Idaho, Utah, Washington and Oregon.

The storms were sandwiched between intense heat over the last two weeks. From Fargo, N.D., to Chicago and Cary, N.C., roads have heated up, drawing moisture underneath to the surface and then creating what's called a "heave."

In Wisconsin, the driver of an SUV didn't see a heave on Highway 29 near Eau Claire and went airborne, WISN-TV reported Tuesday. After getting several feet of air, the car sped out of control into oncoming traffic, and then plowed into a field.

The driver and passenger were not seriously hurt.

Areas where roads buckled on July 4th included Chicago, where Columbus Drive was shut down, and Pennsylvania's Lancaster County, where crews deployed in the heat after a heave forced the closure of Route 222.

"I'd rather be at home, drinking my beer, eating a burger," state transportation worker Kevin Palumbo told NBC affiliate WGAL-TV. "We just try to get it done and get it over with."

But he was also aware of the danger of buckled roads. "It's a hazard," he said. "You don't want to hit that on your motorcycle at 80 miles an hour."

Travis Long / The News & Observer via AP

Workers wait for asphalt to arrive after removing a section of westbound I-440 that buckled in triple-digit temperatures on June 29 near Cary, N.C.

Buckled roads were just some of the frustrations still facing millions on Thursday.

In Chicago, soaring temperatures forced 17 public schools without air conditioning to cancel summer classes on Thursday, NBCChicago.com reported. Additional closures are possible in the days to come.

The Mid-Atlantic region was also struggling to get back to normal after the deadly storms.

Utility and municipal crews worked through the July 4th holiday to restore power and remove downed tree limbs. Officials blamed the storms for 26 deaths. 

More than 2 million customers at one point lost power from the storms that converged on Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, D.C., Indiana, Ohio and New Jersey on Friday. They packed winds topping 80 mph in some places, uprooting trees and damaging homes.

Much of the damage to the power grid was blamed on last weekend's rare "derecho," a big, powerful and long-lasting wind storm that blew from the Midwest to the Atlantic Ocean.

Thunderstorms add boom to East Coast's Fourth of July

Pepco said it had restored power to 90 percent of those affected by last week's storms in D.C. and two Maryland suburbs, beating its own estimate for getting the air conditioning back on. BGE said about 78,000 customers in central Maryland remained without power. 

More than 146,000 Virginia homes and businesses remained without power, down from a peak of about 1.2 million after the storms. 

In New Jersey, Atlantic City Electric said nearly 30,000 homes and businesses were still without service. That's down from about 206,000. 

While the number without power was diminishing Thursday utilities were not moving quickly enough for many of those still in the sweltering dark. 

Many expressed frustration with handwritten messages hung from utility poles resembling "Wanted" posters, The Washington Post reported. 

Along Route 29 in Silver Spring, Maryland, on Wednesday, a woman hammered a series of signs into non-functioning utility pole reading: "5 Days No Lite."

"Pepco: very warm humans feeling forgotten," read another sign, according to the paper. 

Maryland issued a heat advisory for the entire state for Thursday, after issuing one for parts of the state for Wednesday.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. 

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A computer glitch apparently caused the fireworks mishap that disappointed thousands of people who camped out to watch the Big Bay Boom in San Diego's Glorietta Bay Wednesday night, when they got more of a Big Bay Bust.

Hours after the fireworks malfunction, August Santore, co-owner of Garden State Fireworks, told San Diego morning television stations, “We apologize to all the residents and all the people who missed their fireworks.”

About 5 minutes before the show was supposed to start, a sudden burst of fireworks shot into the air near the bay. Throughout downtown San Diego, a large rumble could be felt just before 9 p.m. on Wednesday night.

It appeared that hundreds of fireworks were set off at the same time. The explosions lasted a few seconds.

At about 9:20 p.m., people waiting for the display were told to return home. The fireworks show was canceled, a radio announcement said.

See the original report at NBCSanDiego.com

Port District authorities said a "technical difficulty" resulted in all the fireworks going off within 15 seconds, just minutes before the show was scheduled to begin.

"We sincerely apologize for the technical glitch that affected the #BigBayBoom. Event producers are currently investigating the cause," read a Tweet from the Port of San Diego.

Watch RAW video of the Big Bay Boom here.

Santore said the problem was not a malfunction of the pyrotechnics and it was not human error. 

The crew was up all night testing and retesting to find out what happened, he said, and they are "pretty confident" there was some sort of glitch in a computer program that was downloaded into all five systems coordinating the fireworks at all five stations.

The company has backup plans if the display doesn’t ignite but there is no backup plan if the fireworks ignite prematurely, Santore said.

The show took several months of planning.

"No one feels worse than us,” Santore said. “We don’t look for anyone’s sympathy, we accept 100% responsibility.”

"We were hired to perform and do a contract and there is no excuse," he said. "We will get to the bottom of it. It’s not something we take lightly."

Santore has offered to do a makeup fireworks display at no cost to the Big Bay Boom Committee, which produces the event.

Santore told NBCSanDiego.com that Big Bay Boom thanked Garden State for its generosity, but no plans were in place. Santore said his company may end up producing the Independence Day show next year for free.

Here's a collection of responses from social media users who witnessed the seemingly botched display: 

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Andrew P Johnson / AP

Gabi Hogg, 7, and her mother Jenny Hogg share a moment before mounting a bike for the July Fourth Parade on Highway 77 in Panama City, Fla. Wednesday.

Millions of Americans headed for parades and fireworks shows on Wednesday to mark a sweltering Fourth of July holiday, some even celebrating as the nation's founders did -- without electricity.

Thunderstorms forced a brief delay in the annual Boston Pops concert and people on the Esplanade for the event were told to take shelter, NBC station WHDH of Boston reported. Two people were reported struck by lightning in south Boston around 11 p.m. but their conditions weren't known, boston.cbslocal.com reported.

CBS said three others were struck by lightning at Weirs Beach in Laconia, N.H., but their conditions weren't known.

Thunderstorms also threatened in the nation's capital, where thousands of visitors from across the continent took part in Independence Day celebrations. 

Hosting the 32nd annual Capitol Fourth, "Dancing with the Stars'" Tom Bergeron told the audience how he was feeling the heat, exclaiming at one point that he was "sweating standing still."

Despite the heat, the usual enormous crowds flocked to the Mall and monuments throughout the day. By 7 p.m., the lawn of the Capitol where the concert took place was about two-thirds filled. Men and women lined the steps of the Capitol building and filled the balconies. The Capitol Fourth Concert ended with fireworks behind the Washington Monument.

Elsewhere, storm-ravaged states from Indiana to Virginia carried on celebrations on Day 5 of a power outage caused by deadly winds ripping through the region. More than 735,000 homes and businesses remained affected and thousands of utility workers stayed on the job in a scramble to restore electricity.

Slideshow: Celebrating Fourth of July

Erik S. Lesser / EPA

Americans celebrate 236 years of independence with parades, fireworks, hot dogs and family fun.

Launch slideshow

"We still have a tree on the garage. It's been one of those weeks," said Gary Belniak, 57, of Wheaton, Ill., who has been without power since Sunday. His town canceled its parade and fireworks display.

Exhausted by three sleepless nights in a house where temperatures hover at about 90 degrees, Belniak said he had all but given up on the holiday.

"I decided to come to work today. That's basically my Fourth of July. I'm so irritated," he said.

In hard-hit West Virginia, Karen Allen said she planned to spend the holiday - her sixth day without power - hunting for ice.

"I'm going to go look for ice, cold gold is what it is, it's very scarce," said Allen, 43, of Charleston, W.Va.

Happy Fourth! Could you pass US citizenship test?

That warmth coupled with dry conditions snuffed out annual firework displays in scores of towns and cities in the West that are reeling from deadly wildfires that charred hundreds of homes and displaced tens of thousands of people.

On the East Coast, tragedy struck when a cache of fireworks apparently accidentally exploded on the back porch of a family home in New Hampshire on Tuesday night, injuring nine people, including two young children with life-threatening injuries, according to Pelham, N.H., firefighter Shawn Buckley. The children, both under age 4, were airlifted to Boston-area hospitals, according to Buckley.

'Orange mushroom cloud': Fireworks explosion injures 9 at New Hampshire home

Narrowsburg, N.Y.: The bald eagle, the very symbol of American independence, brought down the show in the hamlet on the Pennsylvania border. The local fire department canceled its planned fireworks display after being warned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that it could face enormous fines and even prison if any nearby bald eagles were harmed. "We decided we're not going to take the gamble," said Fire Chief George Strumpfler, canceling the show that began more than 100 years ago. "It doesn't look like it's ever going to happen again."

Philadelphia: Ahead of a 5,000-participant parade and what was billed as the nation's largest free concert and fireworks display in the nation's birthplace , Mayor Michael Nutter led a ceremony including a military fly-over, readings from the Declaration of Independence and 13 people, representing the 13 original colonies, becoming naturalized U.S. citizens, NBCPhiladelphia.com reported. The Roots was the house band for the Philly 4th of July Jam on Wednesday evenng, with the band’s drummer, Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson serving as musical director. The concert featuring Queen Latifah, Daryl Hall, Common and Joe Jonas and was followed by fireworks over the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Out of wildfire's ashes, a July 4 extravaganza rises

Chicago: The Windy City suffered through sweltering heat. The Navy Pier was the viewpoint for fireworks synchronized to music over Lake Michigan. The city-sponsored Grant Park show was canceled due to budget cuts.

Reuters, The Associated Press and msnbc.com's Jim Gold contributed to this article.  Follow Jim Gold at msnbc.com on Facebook here.

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Follow Kari Huus on Twitter and Facebook.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Waldo Canyon fire has been the most destructive in state history, but it has galvanized the community here in ways that are unprecedented too.

In just a few days, as emergency services ramped up and firefighters beat back the blaze that destroyed 346 homes and scorched 18,000 acres, some unlikely partners pulled together an extravaganza to celebrate the Fourth of July, and raise money to get victims back on their feet.

The Colorado Springs Philharmonic, originally scheduled to play at the Air Force Academy fireworks celebration—which was canceled -- will headline a concert in the 7,500-seat World Arena with the Flying W Wranglers, blue grass musicians who were left jobless after their usual venue, the Flying W Ranch, was destroyed in the fire.

A popular news anchor from the local NBC affiliate television station KOAA will emcee the event, The Community Rises, which will be produced by Rocky Mountain Public Television and streamed by all the local commercial television and radio stations while raising fire relief funds through a telethon.

Slideshow: Celebrating Fourth of July

Erik S. Lesser / EPA

Americans celebrate 236 years of independence with parades, fireworks, hot dogs and family fun.

Launch slideshow

The underwriters of the program are perhaps the most unlikely local partners of all: The alternative left-leaning weekly Colorado Springs Independent and Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian organization that has its international headquarters here.

"We’ve had fierce battles with Focus over the years," said John Weiss, publisher of the Independent. "But we needed to show we are a community united … and give people something to do on the Fourth of July since the fireworks are canceled."

Also appearing at the fundraiser are Isaac Slade of The Fray, Michael Martin Murphey and Flash Cadillac. Tickets for the event were distributed for free, and all proceeds from the telethon will go to a local victims’ assistance fund administered by United Way, said Weiss.

In a one-and-only rehearsal on Tuesday, Philharmonic cellist Camilla Bonzo said she was sight-reading her way through the music.

PBS producer and director Scott Jones said he had just finished cobbling together a crew that afternoon by borrowing staff from many of the local stations. Jones is responsible for producing and feeding the event via satellite to all the other broadcasters, a job he didn’t realize he was doing until Friday morning.

"We used to do big events like this once in a while," Jones says. "But we spent months preparing for them."

Follow Kari Huus on Facebook

Kiichiro Sato / AP

Fireworks explode over Lake Michigan Sunday, July 4, 2010, in Chicago.

Summer holidays may be a little quieter this year in some cash-strapped American cities, but others are taking steps to make sure fallen soldiers are remembered on Memorial Day and the nation's birth is celebrated with a bang on the Fourth of July.

New Rochelle, N.Y., last week announced it was canceling Independence Day fireworks costing it $75,000 and axing budgets for Memorial Day and Thanksgiving parades, which cost $30,000 each to put on, NBCNewYork.com reported. Private donors stepped up to keep the parades afloat, officials said. They are not so sure they can raise enough money in time to light up the skies July Fourth.

The city was one of several that announced fireworks cancellations recently. 

Public donations and corporate sponsorships pay for the fireworks in about 75 percent of the nation’s approximately 14,000 municipal displays during the week of Independence Day, Philip Butler, spokesman for Fireworks by Grucci, told msnbc.com. City and town governments -- taxpayers -- mainly pay for the events’ police and fire protection, he said. That's a change from the 1980s and '90s, he said, when more than 70 percent of the pyrotechnics were paid with government funds.

Grucci, which will put on 84 shows ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 each the week of July 4, was scheduled to put on the New Rochelle show, Butler said. Grucci will hold the town's reservation until June 1.

“It’s prevalent all across the country,” Butler said. “It’s a sin politicians pull budgets for entertainment -- and not just fireworks but events like summer concerts, too."

New Rochelle's financial problems mirror other cities' woes. Pension and health insurance costs rose while revenue from sales and property taxes dropped, officials said.

Gregory Minchak, National League of Cities spokesman, told msnbc.com that city budgets across the country are still being cut, although the pace has slowed.

City finances, largely driven by property taxes, lag even if the economy starts to improve, Minchak said. Property tax revenues fell when housing values dropped, he said, but it takes a while for higher assessments to kick in when values start to rise again.

“Any time you have high unemployment – the national rate was 8.1 percent in April – that also affects city finances,” Minchak said. Local governments lay off workers and people spend less in their communities, driving down sales-tax revenues.

But city finances won't keep bombs from bursting in the air everywhere.

"Communities will rally around their fireworks displays," said Stephen Vitale, president of New Castle, Penn.-based Pyrotecnico, which is putting on more than 650 Fourth of July fireworks displays. Vitale said the pyrotechnic industry is largely recession-proof.

Some communities save money by setting off fireworks on July 3 or on the weekends before or after the Fourth, lessening police and firefighter overtime pay, Vitale said. Overtime often is double regular pay on a holiday but only time-and-a-half other days.

Todd Reichenbach, of Billings, Mont.-based Pyro F/X, told msnbc.com his company will put on seven municipal shows ranging from $15,000 to $40,000.

“We had to say no to four towns,” Reichenbach said.

“Montana is a bit more isolated,” he said of the state’s economy. “When the rest of the country is doing good, we’re not as good; when the rest of the country is hurting, we’re not as bad,” he said.

Here's a sampling of communities' approaches to celebrations for Memorial Day, considered the summer kickoff, and Independence Day:

• Batavia, Ill., has put on a fireworks show annually for 60 years and never spent taxpayer dollars on buying the fireworks, Mayor Jeff Schielke told msnbc.com. The Chicago suburb of 26,000 gets behind two annual fund-raisers, he said. One pits a team of police and firefighters against a team of teachers in a basketball game; the other is a citywide garage sale, which last week included 200 homes with owners paying $25 each to host shoppers from throughout the region. This year's fireworks display will cost $35,000 to $40,000, Schielke said.
• Hanford, Calif., will be one of three San Joaquin Valley cities each getting a $10,000 grant in to feature a laser light show that is less polluting than fireworks, Mike Bertaina, president of the Hanford of Chamber of Commerce, told msnbc.com. The other cities in a pilot program that covers about half a laser show's cost will be decided soon, said Jaime Holt, spokeswoman for the valley's Air Pollution Control District. District governors decided to try the substitution to ease ozone pollution, usually a winter problem, seen with a spike in particulate matter after July Fourth fireworks, Holt told msnbc.com. "Fireworks have metals and other toxic materials contributing to ozone through combustion that puts toxic material into the environment," Holt said.
• San Ramon, Calif., wants to get the word out that out-of-town fireworks fans should go elsewhere July 4 since the city cut its annual show, a tradition since 1985, the San Ramon Express News reported. The San Francisco suburb plans to end its Fourth of July festivities by 6 p.m. so its own resident revelers have time to go to other Bay Area communities where fireworks shows survive. The Express News said the city would have spent $318,000 if it put on a fireworks event this year, up from $175,000 in 2011. This year's scaled-back July 4 celebratiion, aimed only at city residents and featuring a symphony concert, a funk-and-soul band and an armed forces salute, will cost only $41,580, the Express News said.
• Chicago in 2010 ended a three-decade tradition of July 3 fireworks linked to the 10-day Taste of Chicago festival at Grant Park, city officials said. The only official July 4 fireworks continue at Navy Pier, run by a civic organization. To save money, the Taste of Chicago this year will be scaled back to five days and not start until July 11, officials said.
• North Providence, R.I., will bring back Independence Day fireworks for the first time in four years and enhance its Memorial Day parade after an April fund-raising dance raised more money, over $10,000, than expected, the weekly Valley Breeze reported. Severe budget cuts had killed July Fourth fireworks, the newspaper said.
• Sea Bright, N.J., last week canceled oceanfront July Fourth fireworks because the 11-person Police Department could not find 10 to 15 officers from other communities to work that day despite offering $72 per hour to patrol an expected crowd of 35,000 visitors, The Hub newspaper reported. Neighboring Red Bank, citing increasing security costs, canceled its 50-year-old KaBoom festival, planned July 3. Town officials said the event was a victim of its own success, bringing 100,000 visitors to town in 2011.
• Woodstown, N.J., will bring back Fourth of July fireworks, thanks to the sponsorship of the Woodstown-Pilesgove Business Association, the Newark Star-Ledger reported.
• Marion, Mass., selectmen canceled their fireworks show because of a lack of fund-raising since last year’s event but hope to bring back pyrotechnics next year, the SippicanVillageSoup weekly newspaper reported.

Follow Jim Gold at msnbc.com on Facebook here.

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