Strong winds and heavy downpours could be generated by some of the storms that are expected to move across the Garden State Tuesday evening.
UPDATE: As of 9 p.m., the severe thunderstorm watch has been lifted, but there is still a chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms across New Jersey until midnight.
Don't be surprised if the sky turns black before sundown on Tuesday.
Strong thunderstorms are sweeping across eastern Pennsylvania at this hour and could move into New Jersey during the next two hours, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a severe thunderstorm watch for 10 counties.
The watch, which is not as urgent as a warning, is effective through 11 p.m. for Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Morris, Salem, Somerset, Sussex and Warren counties.
A cluster of thunderstorms is moving through Berks, Lehigh and Northampton counties in Pennsylvania as of 5:30 p.m., prompting warnings in those counties, said Joe Miketta, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's regional forecast office in Mount Holly. Another batch of storms is moving from northern Maryland and could affect parts of southern and central New Jersey, Miketta said.
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The storms in Maryland do not appear to be as severe as the storms that are moving through Pennsylvania, he said. The Pennsylvania cells have the potential to pack wind gusts as high as 60 mph.
Early Tuesday morning, the U.S. Storm Prediction Center said much of New Jersey faces a slight risk of severe thunderstorms Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday evening and the weather service said some storms could be accompanied by strong winds and could produce localized flooding.
Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality or like him on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.