Sun shines, rain subsides in Triangle as Beryl moves out

"We're not seeing a whole lot of flooding, which is a great thing," said WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner. "It’s really picking up some speed and moving on out of here."

Some of the coastal counties haven't been as lucky. In Manteo and Nags Head, as much as 6 inches of water swallowed up parking lots and parked cars. Wind whipped across the dunes and flash floods caused damage in some areas.

Hatteras Island saw rough surf and localized flooding along N.C. Highway 12, but no major problems were reported.

In contrast, the Triangle saw anywhere from .25 inches to 1 inch of rain, and Fayetteville saw about 2 inches.

"These are wide ranging totals, but that’s what we expected to see," Gardner said.

As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, Beryl was moving east-northeast at 21 mph with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph.

Once Beryl pushes into the Atlantic Wednesday night, skies will continue to clear across eastern North Carolina, allowing high temperatures to push back into the low 90s.

More wet weather could be on the way Friday, according to Gardner, who says some of the storms could be severe in the afternoon and evening. The sunshine returns this weekend with temperatures in the mid 80s.

Following Tropical Storm Alberto, Beryl is the second named storm in May, appearing before the Atlantic hurricane season officially starts on June 1.

The last time two such strong storms formed before hurricane season was 1908, which saw hurricanes in March and May. Before that, two tropical storms formed in May 1887.