Some thunderstorms Tuesday afternoon and evening could be severe, with strong winds, lightning and small hail, forecasters say.
Don't get fooled by those rays of sunshine poking through the clouds.
Scattered rain showers and thunderstorms -- similar to those that hit parts of the region overnight -- will be rolling across New Jersey Tuesday afternoon and in the evening, and some have the potential to be strong, forecasters say.
Southern and central counties have the best shot at seeing thunderstorms on Tuesday, according to Lance Franck, a National Weather Service meteorologist, who said the storms could pack damaging winds, frequent lightning and small hail.
Scattered thunderstorms swept through parts of the Garden State early in the morning, dropping nickel-sized hail in Clayton in Gloucester County and slightly smaller hail in Monroe Township in Gloucester County and Winslow Township in Camden County, Franck said.
Bolts of lightning hit a large tree and two houses in Glen Rock in Bergen County at about 3:30 a.m., setting a small fire in one of the houses, News 12 New Jersey reported.
Did the early morning strong to severe thunderstorms wake you? Thunder, lightning, and in some areas, hail. https://t.co/Amxxxim9Uh
-- JSHN (@JSHurricaneNews) April 26, 2016
Franck said the next batch of thunderstorms will likely move from eastern Pennsylvania across New Jersey from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. While some storms could pack lightning and small hail, the meteorologist said the biggest threat of damage might be from strong wind gusts. There also could be some heavy downpours, he said.
Update: A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect through 9 p.m. for the following counties: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Salem and Somerset.
Although the rain might make roads a little slick during the evening commute and interrupt some outdoor activities, it's likely a welcome event for New Jersey farmers and gardeners, who have not seen much rain this month.
Prior to Tuesday's rain, precipitation has been far below normal across most of northern and central New Jersey, along with New York City, and slightly below normal in the Atlantic City region, according to climate data from the National Weather Service.
From April 1 through April 25, Newark received just under 1 inch of precipitation -- rain combined with melted snow from earlier this month, the data shows. That's more than 2 and one-half inches below the city's normal precipitation total during the first 25 days of the month.
New York's Central Park has a similar deficit this month, and Trenton is just over 2 inches below normal, the data shows. Atlantic City, which has seen 2.9 inches of precipitation this month, has a deficit of only a half inch. Philadelphia has a deficit of 1.5 inches.
Although almost half of New Jersey is considered "abnormally dry," environmental officials said reservoir levels are close to normal and the state is not under a drought watch.
Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality. Find NJ.com on Facebook.