Severe and extreme heat-related impacts are expected across a wide swath of the U.S. this weekend and next week.

"I think it was a lot of grassroots, to be honest, and it worked," Michael Staudenmaier said of rolling out his team's novel heat-risk data tool.

Much of the U.S. is under extreme heat warnings or advisories while New York, Philadelphia and Washington could feel like 100 degrees or more.