New Jersey could see some heavy downpours and potentially severe thunderstorms this evening.
Strong thunderstorms moving across western New York on Thursday afternoon could drop heavy rain in the northern part of the state Thursday night.
Meteorologists at WeatherWorks, the Hackettstown-based weather consulting company, said they are watching complex storms in the area of Ithaca, New York, which are pushing southeast and may have enough power to develop in areas around Sussex County in the evening.
However, those storms could miss and only hit the northeast part of Pennsylvania near Scranton, according to Nick Marguccio, operational meteorologist at WeatherWorks.
UPDATE: A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for parts of Morris, Sussex and Warren counties, effective through 7:30 p.m. Thursday. A severe thunderstorm watch is active through 10 p.m. Thursday in most of northern and central New Jersey, down to Burlington and Ocean counties.
Marguccio said there is a chance for lightning, 40-mph wind gusts and heavy downpours that could continue into the southeast part of the state and potentially Central Jersey around 8 p.m.
A severe thunderstorm watch has already been issued by the National Weather Service in Binghamton, N.Y., according Ray Kruzdlo, meteorologist at the NWS in Mt. Holly.
Precipitation moving toward New Jersey would hit around 8 p.m. and last until 2 a.m., according to the NWS.
Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.