Saint George, South Carolina — A rare October heatwave in the Southeast and Midwest pushed into the Northeast Wednesday and sent temperatures soaring. Records were broken in 164 cities Wednesday as nearly half the country had temperatures above 90.

Saint George, South Carolina, is now in the grips of a flash drought, brought on by extreme heat and no rain. To see the effects, CBS News flew a drone over a cornfield. Stanley Gruber said his insurance agent told him his corn crop is a total loss.

"I mean there's no ears here," he said.



Temperatures reached the mid-90s in Saint George. On average in the month of October, it would usually be in the mid-70s.



This is the first time in 50 years that Gruber won't make any money on his corn crop.

David Begnaud with Stanley Gruber. CBS News

"I'm starting to pay attention to some of this climate change they are talking about," he said. "Now if you don't have irrigation, you can't grow anything," he said.



The heat will break for much of the country on Friday, but in the South, it will not only stay hot, but dry.

