A severe thunderstorm warning was in effect for Cayuga, Wayne and Oswego counties until 5 p.m. as a line of storms moved northeast at 40 mph, with the strongest impacts expected between then and 5 p.m. in Cayuga and Wayne counties.

The storms were capable of producing 60 mph wind gusts and quarter-size hail, and the line was near Chimney Bluffs State Park and Waterloo. The source said there was less than an hour before the line cleared out of the region.

Anyone outdoors was urged to seek shelter immediately and get inside a sturdy building away from windows. Drivers were told to pull off the road and stay in their vehicle with the engine off. The source said hail could damage crops and vehicles, while winds could down tree branches and knock over unsecured objects.

Another severe thunderstorm warning was in effect through 4:45 p.m. for Seneca, Yates, Cayuga, northwestern Cortland and Onondaga counties, where storms were moving east at 50 mph with damaging wind gusts near 60 mph and penny-sized hail. The source said power outages were possible from the wind.

Elsewhere, Wayne County was under a separate severe thunderstorm warning until 4:15 p.m. as a storm moved east at 35 mph with 60 mph wind gusts and penny-size hail, affecting Newark, Lyons, Palmyra, Marion and Sodus. A second storm was affecting southern Cayuga and Seneca counties near Auburn, producing 40 mph winds and pea-size hail as it moved northeast.

Wayne and Ontario counties were also under a severe thunderstorm warning until 4:15 p.m. with 60 mph wind gusts and quarter-size hail expected, and a separate strong thunderstorm was tracking northeast over Seneca and southern Cayuga counties near Lodi and Dundee. That storm was bringing 40 to 50 mph winds and half-inch hail and was expected to affect Ledyard, Aurora, Ovid and surrounding areas through the next hour.

The storm system was moving out, and the warnings were set to expire after 5 p.m. as the line cleared the region. For the counties still under warning, the immediate hazard was not the rain but the wind and hail already in motion.