Severe thunderstorms have battered parts of New Jersey with heavy rain and gusty winds, cutting off power to thousands of homes and businesses across the state. Meteorologists are warning of more storms late into Sunday night.

NJ.com's Power Outage Tracker, which monitors utility outage numbers in the region, showed that about 12,000 New Jersey homes and businesses were without power as of 6 p.m. Sunday.

Meteorologists with the National Weather Service had predicted that a cold front would move across New Jersey on Sunday and interact with hot, humid air, which could trigger severe thunderstorms with damaging winds of up to 60 mph.

A severe weather watch is in effect for 18 of the state's 21 counties until 7 p.m. Sunday, and three counties – Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland – are under a severe weather watch until 11 p.m. Sunday. Several severe weather warnings and flash flood warnings have also been issued.

Meteorologists say they cannot rule out the possibility that an isolated tornado could form during the severe thunderstorms because of the high humidity and wind shear in the atmosphere.

On Wednesday night, New Jersey was hit by severe thunderstorms that toppled trees and downed power lines in numerous cities, leaving more than 100,000 homes and businesses across the state without power.

These storms proved deadly: According to local police, a large tree fell on and killed a 30-year-old man in East Orange.

Current figures on power outages

Note: If you cannot see the outage numbers on your device, Click here.

Current weather radar

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Len Melisurgo can be reached at [email protected] or on X at @LensReality.