Winds from Tropical Depression Beryl spawned what appears to be a tornado Wednesday that destroyed four homes and damaged 64 more near Peletier, N.C., the local emergency management chief told msnbc.com.
No injuries were reported, added JoAnn Smith, emergency services director for Carteret County.
National Weather Service teams were on the ground to determine if the system was in fact a tornado. Another possibility was that a water spout formed since the damage was along the White Oak River, Smith said.
The area is about 100 miles southeast of Raleigh.
Overnight, Beryl spawned a twister with 105 mph winds that blew off roofs and ripped up trees in Holly Hill, S.C., WCSC-TV reported. No one was injured.
Beryl was expected to return to storm status as it heads out to sea ? and after dumping up to 6 inches of rain Wednesday from eastern North Carolina to southeast Virginia.
In North Carolina, many schools along the coast decided to shorten Wednesday's school day by several hours because of the flood threat, NBC affiliate WNCN-TV reported.
Beryl sloshed ashore near Jacksonville, Fla., on Memorial Day as a tropical storm but was a tropical depression Wednesday morning with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph.
While expected to strengthen later Wednesday, any tropical storm-force winds will be offshore, the National Hurricane Center stated.
Beryl is the second named tropical system of the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane season that doesn't officially begin until Friday.
Beryl dumped 10 inches of rain in Sewanee County, Fla., while nearby areas wound up with 3 to 6 inches.
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Forecasters had predicted that up to 4 inches could fall on parts of South Carolina on Tuesday, although dry air began to wrap into the system in Georgia and by late in the day, the forecast called for only about 2 inches of new rain.
Rain would be welcome along the South Carolina coast after what has been a warm winter and dry spring. Rainfall in the Charleston area is about 4 inches below normal for the year.
Prior to Wednesday's tornado damage, reports from the National Weather Service indicated that damage from Beryl seemed confined to downed trees and branches.
One person, an 18-year-old who went swimming off Daytona Beach on Monday evening, died in the rough surf.
Msnbc.com's Miguel Llanos and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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