A swath of severe thunderstorms that erupted over the central Appalachians Tuesday afternoon will roll across the Interstate 95 corridor of the Northeast Tuesday evening.

Major cities that are projected to be in the path of the storms include Philadelphia; New York City; Boston; Wilmington, Delaware; Atlantic City, New Jersey; Hartford, Connecticut and perhaps Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

"The most common characteristics of the storms will be strong, perhaps damaging, wind gusts, while some of the storms may also bring large hail," according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Evan Duffey.

Some of the storms may produce hail to the size of golf balls and baseballs.

Frequent lightning strikes, blinding downpours and isolated flash flooding are also likely. Expect sporadic power outages and downed trees with these storms.

"A couple of the strongest storms could produce a brief tornado as well," Duffey said.

The area at greatest risk for a isolated tornado is likely to extend from northeastern Pennsylvania to western Massachusetts and northern Connecticut.

The first storms erupted in parts of northern and western Pennsylvania to central and eastern New York state during the afternoon hours and began to organize into a solid line.

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This line of storms will then advance southeastward through the I-95 corridor during evening rush hour.

Expect airline delays as the storms approach and move through.

Motorists and anyone outdoors should keep an eye out for rapidly changing weather conditions.

Never attempt to drive through a flooded roadway. To do so may not only damage your vehicle but may put you and your would-be rescuers at risk.

Seek shelter in a building and not under a tree or canopy during the storm as these are not safe areas during high winds or frequent lightning. If you can hear thunder, you are at risk for being struck by lightning.

The storms on Tuesday follow a long swath of storms that produced damaging winds from central Ohio to eastern Virginia on Monday.

Wednesday should bring a break of severe weather over New England and the upper part of the mid-Atlantic.

However, showers will frequent areas from Ohio to Pennsylvania and southeastern New York state. Thunderstorms are also likely from near the Mason-Dixon Line on south.

Showers and thunderstorms are forecast to spread northward later in the week and into this weekend as tropical moisture moves up from the Southern states.

While there will be the potential for a localized severe thunderstorm, the greatest risk for heavy rain and flash flooding on a regional basis is from Friday to Saturday.

Downpours may linger into the evening hours on Saturday around the time of the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore.

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