Millions of Americans are bracing for a wave of stagnant weather this week with the potential for soaring temperatures and severe storms across the country.

An Omega block weather pattern is starting to take hold across the US, leaving various regions under the same conditions all week long.

Omega block weather patterns get their name because the upper air pattern looks like the Greek letter omega (Ω).

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an Omega block is a combination of two cutoff lows, with a blocking high sandwiched between them.

This weather pattern occurs when a large ridge of high pressure (the hump) is sandwiched between two troughs of low pressure on both sides.

This setup creates a type of atmospheric traffic jam because weather systems normally zip across the country from west to east.

Still, this system often becomes stuck over regions for days, leading to prolonged periods of the same weather.

Lightning lights up the sky behind an AT&T building as a…