Axios Visuals Last week's flooding across the Midwest and East continues a record-setting trend of flash flood warnings issued by the National Weather Service. Why it matters: The numbers reflect an especially rainy season,

St. Louis tackles summer weather extremes with flash floods and intense heatwave warnings from the National Weather Service.

More than 50 million Americans from Texas to Missouri were already under National Weather Service extreme heat warnings or advisories July 20.

Storms outside the higher-risk zones caused problems in central Maryland with Flash Flood Warnings and a Flash Flood Emergency being issued outside Washington, D.C. Areas such as Bethesda, Takoma Park,

Early on Thursday morning the National Weather Service's Lake Charles office announced that it would be expanding the flash flood warning that previously went as far west as Vermillion Parish to include Calcasieu, Cameron, Allen, Jefferson Davis and Beauregard parishes. The watch is in effect from 7 a.m. on Thursday to 7 p.m. on Saturday.

“The biggest thing is making sure you have a plan ahead of time when it’s not raining,” he said. “I highly recommend weather.gov/safety/flood. That will walk you through flood preparedness tips and what to do before, during, and after an event.”

Around 11 million Americans are under flood alerts as a "ring of fire" weather pattern will continue to impact the eastern two-thirds of the country through the weekend.

Flash Flood Watch issued in Central Indiana, expecting heavy rain and potential severe storms, with rising heat over 100 degrees to follow.