Tonight's Scattering of Thunderstorms

Update, 8:20 PM:   A line of showers is on the radar from Northern New Jersey back into Central Pennsylvania, generally along and north of I-78 at this point.  The cells are moving southeast and were with the line I talked about a couple of hours ago.   They've made a bit of a right turn the last couple of hours and have a shot at grazing some of us later tonight.  The first fringes -- generally just now grazing Allentown -- are weakening somewhat while a stronger line exists north of Scranton.   These storms might make it into Bucks or Trenton...perhaps even Philly later on...but the theme of the evening at this point is scattered storms...some hits, some misses.

Update, 6:15 PM:    You can see radar from State College showing the thundery landscape this evening -- a bit of a training setup taking shape north of Williamsport to near Scranton -- those storms could bring some heavier rains to the Poconos later on this evening if they continue to hold and track east-southeast as they are at present.  Locally, the strongest cell in the Central PA storms near Harrisburg will track far to our west, perhaps scraping Lancaster this evening.   There are some lighter showers and a rumble or two of thunder working into Berks County -- some of that activity could lead to a round or two of drops and maybe a few thunder rumbles in the next couple of hours.

The offshoot of this morning's thunderstorm line in Ontario and Upstate New York has spawned new thunderstorm activity to our northwest and west this afternoon while the main activity that was to our north has fizzled out as the storm line reached the Binghamton area.   Storms extend from Williamsport to near Pittsburgh and are moving southeast.   Given the current trend on radar, most of these storms may pass to our west unless the thunderstorms around Williamsport can build farther east or northeast in the coming hours.

As of right now, there are no watches and only one severe thunderstorm warning with the line (out by Pittsburgh) but the storms will have the potential of intensifying somewhat thanks to a warm, humid airmass in place over the region this afternoon as temperatures are in the 90's out ahead of the line.   The strongest of storms could bring gusty winds, some hail, and localized heavier rains.   As of now, Chester County and perhaps western Berks County could see thunderstorms in about three hours or so...if the line builds farther east we could see activity into the Philly region after 7 PM.

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