ASKEWVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A tornado-spewing storm system that killed at least two dozen people across half the country unleashed its worst fury on North Carolina, where homes broke apart, trees snapped, and livestock were swept into the air.

Residents in the capital city and rural hamlets alike on Sunday mourned the dead, marveled at their own survival, and began to clean up devastated neighborhoods.

Observers reported more than 60 tornadoes across North Carolina on Saturday, but most of the state's 21 confirmed deaths occurred in two rural counties. A thunderstorm spawned a tornado that killed four people in southeastern Bladen County, then kept dropping tornadoes as it hopscotched more than 150 miles, eventually moving into Bertie County and killing 11 more.

The violent weather began Thursday in Oklahoma, where two people died, before cutting across the Deep South on Friday and hitting North Carolina and Virginia on Saturday. Authorities said seven people died in Arkansas; seven in Alabama; seven in Virginia; and one in Mississippi.

More than 240 tornadoes were reported from the storm system, including 62 in North Carolina, but the National Weather Service's final numbers could be lower because some tornadoes may have been reported more than once.

Saturday was North Carolina's deadliest day for tornadoes since 1984, when 22 twisters killed 42 people and injured hundreds. The state emergency management agency said it had reports of 23 fatalities from Saturday's storms, but local officials confirmed only 21 deaths with The Associated Press.

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North Carolina Tornadoes Kill Dozens; Level Properties &mdash; Slideshow

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