Shocking Video Shows Entire Road Buckling in Heat, Creating a Jump That a Car Instantly Flies Off

Bumpy Road

The summer's first heatwave has been so intense in the United States that an asphalt road buckled so suddenly that an oncoming car went airborne in Missouri, all captured in a now-viral video.

In spite of the peril, the video made for a comical sight: the roads belches, sending a fine mist of dust into the air as it sends forth a brand new speed bump — off which the four-door compact car catches air, like a scene out of a Grand Theft Auto video game.

A local, Arthur Blackwell, caught the fortuitous moment because he was filming the street before it happened and then had it uploaded to Storyful.

"When I went back to get a front angle of cars going over the smaller buckle, the road exploded and rose over 18 inches, sending a car airborne," Blackwell said on the platform.

Local broadcaster Fox23 Now reported that the incident happened Sunday in the city of Cape Girardeau, where temperatures peaked at 91.9 degrees Farenheit but the heat index soared to 102 degrees.

On Monday, crews had patched up the broken up road, which may buckle more due to heat and humidity, city officials told Fox23 Now.

Redditors had their fun with the viral video.

"Danger. Speed bump growing zone," one quipped, while another said, "And that son, is how a speed bump is born."

Crack Epidemic

This video captures an improbable event — an actual road buckling in real time just as a car uses it like a jump ramp — but the phenomenon of roads and other infrastructure buckling due to heat is a widespread issue.

Wisconsin officials are warning motorists to look out for adverse driving conditions after they registered over 50 roads buckling due to the intense heat. South Dakota, Colorado, Nebraska and Alabama have also reported buckling roads.

For any roadway engineers out there, this is par the course; asphalt tends to soften around 120 degrees, and coupled with a heat island effect, you're gonna get a lot of janky streets.

Speaking of infrastructure, the power grid is barely holding up or blacking out in parts of the country — including New York City — in the throes of the heat dome.

The temperature is supposed to break midweek in the Northeast, but till then, whether you're working inside or driving on baking roads, stay alert and stay cool.

More on the heat: Mexico Is Getting So Hot That Even Young People Are Dropping Dead

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