GRAY, Maine - National Weather Service forecasters say conditions are building that could produce tornadoes this afternoon and tonight in far southern Maine, in York County.
A tornado watch is also in effect for portions of eastern Connecticut, much of Massachusetts, central and southern New Hampshire, Rhode Island and coastal waters.
"We're starting to see some openings in the sky to our west and also over southern New Hampshire, and this should destabilize the atmosphere to the point where we could get severe thunderstorms, and some of those thunderstorms could actually contain a tornado," says meteorologist James Brown of the National Weather Service in Gray.
A tornado watch means that conditions are favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms. Forecasters are advising people in the watch areas to be on the lookout for threatening weather conditions and to keep track of weather warnings.
The culprit is a system of thunderstorms that has grown in scope and intensity this afternoon across eastern New York and western New England. The storms are expected to continue intensifying as they move eastward toward the Atlantic seaboard, and bring damaging winds and some hail.
The tornado watch is in effect Tuesday from 3:45 p.m. until 11:00 p.m.
Ed Morin contributed to this story.