Severe thunderstorm watch issued for central Pennsylvania

A potent weather system is expected to bring severe thunderstorms to central Pennsylvania today, followed by an intense heat wave that could produce dangerous temperatures through next week.

Severe thunderstorms are forecast for Thursday afternoon and evening, particularly across the southeastern half of central Pennsylvania. They could bring strong wind gusts and isolated flash flooding.

The National Weather Service in State College has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the eastern third of the state, effective until 9 p.m. Thursday.

The watch includes Dauphin, Cumberland, Perry, York, Adams, Lancaster and Lebanon counties.

Storms are expected to develop by late afternoon. The Weather Channel says the Harrisburg area is most likely to see storms around 3 p.m.

A significant heat wave will rapidly develop this weekend, with temperatures climbing into the 90s by Sunday and potentially reaching extreme levels early next week.

Summer begins at 10:42 p.m. Friday, coinciding with the year’s longest day with 15 hours and 6 minutes of daylight. Friday will offer a brief respite with slightly lower humidity and temperatures in the 80s, before the heat intensifies over the weekend.

Current weather radar

Generative AI was used to produce an initial draft of this story, which was reviewed and edited by PennLive.com staff.