An ominous cloud hangs above the remains of a home that was destroyed by a tornado in Tupelo, Mississippi.

South Carolina, Virginia Face High Tornado Risk: Forecaster

By Alastair Jamieson

Tornado alerts were issued for parts of Georgia, Alabama, Florida and North Carolina early Wednesday as the deadly slow-moving storm system brought more extreme weather to the Deep South.

The Weather Channel's Kevin Roth said the risk of tornadoes Wednesday appeared higher than on Tuesday with the threat appearing highest from South Carolina into central Virginia, south of Washington, D.C.

"This should be the last day of the large severe thunderstorm and tornado threat," Roth added. "Much calmer conditions expected [Thursday] as the storm finally pushes offshore.”

Expired warnings included Granville, Vance, Chatham, Durham, Orange and Wake counties in North Carolina, Miller County in Georgia, Houston County in southeast Alabama and Jackson County in northwest Florida, The Weather Channel reported.

The region has been struck by dozens of tornadoes in recent days – all caused by a weather system that has killed at least 35 people in six states since Sunday.

At least four tornadoes were confirmed to have touched down Tuesday afternoon and evening in Cumberland, Craven, Jones and Edgecombe counties in North Carolina, and reported funnel clouds were being reviewed in several counties in Mississippi and Florida, the National Weather Service said.

Tornado watches spread across almost a quarter of the U.S. on Tuesday night, in a wide band of the Midwest and the Atlantic Coast stretching from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico.

First published April 30 2014, 1:21 AM

Alastair Jamieson

Alastair Jamieson is a London-based reporter, editor and homepage producer for NBC News. He joined NBCNews.com in 2011 after more than a decade working as a reporter and news editor for British newspapers including The Sunday Telegraph and Daily Telegraph in London and The Scotsman in Edinburgh.