U.S. weather picture: Hot and stormy

WASHINGTON, June 10 (UPI) -- Weather across the United States ahead of the weekend was a mixed bag -- record-setting heat in the east ahead of a cool front packing rain, forecasters said.

The temperature at Reagan National Airport in Washington reached 102 degrees Thursday, matching the record for the date set in 1874; the reading also equaled the warmest temperature reached in the month of June since records started being kept in 1871, The Washington Post reported.

Records also were set at Baltimore-Washington International and Dulles International Airports Thursday, reaching 100 and 97, respectively. Philadelphia, at 99 degrees, and Atlantic City, at 102 degrees, were among several other cities in the mid-Atlantic to set records Thursday.

The National Weather service said thunderstorms with heavy rain would move across the heartland throughout the day Friday. It warned recent heavy rainfall has saturated the soil in some areas, making flash floods possible.

Forecasts called for several rounds of strong, gully-washing thunderstorms with the potential in the heartland through Friday evening. The area most at risk extended from the eastern Plains through the mid-Mississippi valley.

Lightning struck and killed a 13-year-old boy in Lancaster County, Pa., Thursday as a storm passed through, Accuweather.com reported.