Suspected tornado hits homes in Jones-Onslow county

Widely scattered thunderstorms moved east across southeast North Carolina late in the evening. Some storms produced large hail, strong winds and frequent, dangerous lightning.

In Carrboro, fire officials Sunday confirmed that a house fire during a round of heavy storms Friday night was caused by lightning. The blaze and water used to fight the fire at 1604 Pathway Drive did $200,000 in damage, officials said.

"There's an old store that's been destroyed, sheet metal dangling from power lines, wood and debris everywhere," Reinijer said. "There was one house with a piece of sheet metal that went through the window of their house."

"We're issuing warnings right and left," she said.

Observers across the state reported hail ranging from the size of a penny to a quarter, the weather service said.

Winds blew down trees and limbs that knocked out power to 985 Progress Energy customers in western North Carolina, the utility said. Duke Energy reported 732 outages in North Carolina.