The blistering heat wave blanketing much of the country isn't just unhealthy for people and pets, it can be catastrophic for roads and vehicles.

Despite a cold front moving in, temperatures in many areas could remain high until Sunday. The heat wave has left scores dead and hundreds of thousands without power.

"Take water with you on your trip," said Jeff Cranson of the Michigan Department of Transportation, warning drivers to make preparations in case of an emergency that could force them to walk a significant distance in the extreme heat if their car breaks down.

Geoff Sundstrom of the Delaware Department of Transportation recommended that drivers have their car batteries tested if they are more than three years old.

"Heat is the number one killer of batteries, not the cold," Sundstrom said.

Meanwhile, the sweltering temperatures from Wisconsin to the Atlantic seaboard have forced state and local road crews into action repairing streets and roadways buckling under the intense heat. Pavement expands in the heat, and cannot contract if it does not cool down enough overnight.

Earlier this week, a viral video showed an SUV airborne after hitting a patch of buckled highway in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin received "upwards of 30 reports" of roads buckling Thursday, according to Don Miller of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. He warned drivers to "stay alert and be on the look out" for damaged patches of road.

Illinois drivers also reported more than two dozen instances of warped roads in the last two weeks.

And drivers in Missouri were warned to be on the lookout for pavement buckling, or "blow-ups" as they're called in DOT jargon.