NJ weather: Tornado watch issued until 7 p.m., scattered wind gusts may reach up to 70 mph

MOUNT HOLLY - Get ready for an intense and rough start to the week, as the forecast is calling for a severe thunderstorm which could drop more than an inch of rain throughout New Jersey on Monday, according to private meteorologists and the National Weather Service.

As of 1 p.m. Monday, a tornado watch has been issued until 7 p.m. for all of Central Jersey and South Jersey along with parts of North Jersey, as the National Weather Service is expecting severe thunderstorms to bring hazardous conditions, including some isolated tornadoes forming throughout these areas.

In addition, marble-sized hai is possible with scattered wind gusts expected to reach up to 70 mph, according to the alert.

The watch is in effect for Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape Map, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Salem, and Somerset counties.

Moderate to heavy rain showers will move through the state in the morning, followed by multiple rounds of heavy isolated thunderstorms in the early to late afternoon hours that could bring damaging wind gusts of 45 mph along the coast and spawn isolated tornadoes in some areas, the National Weather Service said in a Monday forecast. 

A wind advisory is in effect until 6 p.m. Monday for parts of Central and South Jersey, as these damaging winds could bring gusts above 45 mph along the state's coastline, the advisory read.

As of late Monday morning, approximately 7,500 residents in New Jersey, mainly in Monmouth and Ocean counties, are without power due to damages from the wind, according to Jersey Central Power and Light's (JCP&L) outage map. Power is expected to return between noon and 1 p.m. for most of these areas.

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These strong wind gusts also have the potential to reach inland by the afternoon hours, leaving the chance for widespread power outages when the storm reaches its peak, according to private meteorologist Steven DiMartino, who runs NY NJ PA weather.

"Waves of moderate to heavy rainfall, look for the potential for some localized urban flooding with temperatures rising into the mid 50s to lower 60s," DiMartino said.

Some areas of the state could even see a snow mix as temperatures begin to drop during the evening into the low 40s and high 30s, although the chance for snow is extremely low on Monday.

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The area of low pressure from the storm is expected to lift into the eastern Great Lakes sometime tonight through tomorrow morning, as some snow mix will only be seen for areas of higher elevation, according to DiMartino.

"You're just going to see a lot of rain coming down throughout the day," DiMartino said. "There will be a few flash flooding alerts throughout the day, but don't expect to see any flooding concerns that could significantly affect us."

Heading into Tuesday and Wednesday, expect temperatures to drop into the high 20s and low 30s once the storm rolls out of the state, according to Jonathan Carr, who runs Weather NJ. 

Joshua Chung is the 9-5 breaking news and weather reporter. A lifelong Jersey Shore resident, he is a recent graduate of Michigan State University. Contact him at jchung@gannettnj.com, 917-703-9373 or on Twitter @Joshchunggg