N.J. weather: Tornado watch issued as another wave of strong thunderstorms likely to hit state on Wednesday, May 29

UPDATE: At 7:30 p.m. the National Weather Service extended the tornado watch for seven counties until 9 p.m. Watches are no longer in effect in Hunterdon, Mercer and Warren counties.

Here we go again. For the second day in a row, the National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for 10 counties in New Jersey, saying conditions are favorable for severe thunderstorms capable of producing isolated tornadoes with 70 mph winds Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday night.

The tornado watch was issued at 1:10 p.m. and covers these counties in the Garden State: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Salem and Warren. It remains effective through 8 p.m. and also includes many areas of eastern and central Pennsylvania, northern Delaware and northeastern Maryland.

Although a watch is not as urgent as a warning, forecasters say atmospheric conditions on Wednesday are conducive for small tornadoes to form when scattered thunderstorms start moving across our region. If any funnel clouds are spotted, or if forecasters notice rotating winds on weather radar, the watch will likely be upgraded to a tornado warning.

If a warning is issued, forecasters say residents in the affected area should head to a strong building and take immediate cover to protect themselves from injury.

Tornado warnings were issued in several New Jersey counties on Tuesday -- another active day for strong thunderstorms. So far, as of early Wednesday afternoon, the National Weather Service has confirmed one tornado touched down Tuesday night, in Sussex County.

The weather service determined the Sussex tornado was an EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, packing winds of 86 mph to 110 mph in Stanhope and Hopatcong.

One of the hardest-hit areas was Lenape Valley Regional High School in Stanhope, where trees were snapped, a building facade was partially torn apart and a baseball dugout was overturned by powerful winds. In Hopatcong, a few miles north and east of Stanhope, some cars were crushed by large trees that were toppled by the strong winds.

No serious injuries have been reported.

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Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality or like him on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.