The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) is warning about the possibility of destructive wind gusts in severe thunderstorms from Illinois to New Jersey today, with the highest threat level over portions of southern Ohio, northern West Virginia, far western Maryland, and much of central Pennsylvania.

Multiple clusters and lines of thunderstorms are ongoing this morning from western Pennsylvania and these storms are expected to push east into the afternoon and evening hours. According to the SPC, so far, this activity has produced limited severe wind gusts due to weak low-level lapse rates. However, continued heating over central and eastern Pennsylvania will eventually allow the storms to be more efficient wind-producers with locally damaging gusts expected.

A secondary cluster of storms over central Ohio is tracking southeastward in a moderately sheared environment. Rapid heating is occurring to the southwest of this cluster, which should result in intensification by mid afternoon. The SPC says that storms will likely spread into northern West Virginia with a risk of damaging wind gusts and perhaps hail there too.

Due to these threats, the Storm Prediction Center has already issued two Severe Thunderstorm Watches for this region; one is across southeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania while the more recent one has been issued for south-central upstate New York and central Pennsylvania.  The westernmost watch expires at 3pm while the eastern one expires at 7pm today.