Tropical storm watches were in effect for the length of the South Carolina coast and flood watches were posted from the Midlands to the sea with Charlie expected to make landfall near Tampa Bay late Friday.
The storm was then expected to track across Georgia and South Carolina.
The projected path kept Charley inland and an advisory from the National Hurricane Center put the storm about 60 miles west of Charleston early Saturday afternoon with tropical storm force winds of more than 39 mph.
Beaufort County schools were closed Friday because of the approaching storm. Some voluntary evacuations could be requested later Friday, said William Winn with the Beaufort County Emergency Management Department.
Gov. Mark Sanford said he would announce at noon Friday whether he would call for a voluntary evacuation of low-lying areas along the coast. Officials are concerned the storm could pass by at high tide.
Charley was expected to bring heavy rains and brisk winds to the state after Bonnie passed through on Thursday, soaking some areas.
North Myrtle Beach received almost 3 inches of rain while more than a half inch was recorded in Charleston. Locally heavier amounts of as much as 5 inches of rain occurred in a band from Aiken to Lexington counties, the National Weather Service said.
The National Weather Service reported a tornado touched down along a 2-mile track in Fairfield County, damaging several houses and mobile homes. A second tornado set down for about six miles in Chesterfield County, damaging homes, destroying outbuildings and hitting an electric substation causing a power outage.
Four tornadoes were confirmed in Horry County, said Joe Farmer, a spokesman for the state Emergency Management Division.
Heavy rains flooded a few streets and some low lying areas, but no major flooding was reported.
Crews building the $632 million Ravenel Bridge in Charleston, the most expensive ever built in the state, were busy battening down, securing equipment and moving barges upriver.
Recently, with the roadbed being extended across the river, workers installed additional support cables to protect the bridge in the event of storms.
Without the supports, even minimal hurricane winds could twist the cables and damage the diamond-shaped towers of the span between Charleston and Mount Pleasant.
The risks and worries of that storm were taking a toll on long-made plans. For instance, The Citadel in Charleston delayed by one day the scheduled Saturday arrival time of freshmen students because of the possibility of flooding. The University of South Carolina also asked students to wait until Sunday or Monday to move in.
Bonnie prompted flood watches from the Midlands to the Upstate and tornado warnings for many areas of the state Thursday.
There were scattered reports of damage, including sightings of funnel clouds, some flooding and downed tree limbs.
The National Weather Service said between 4 and 8 inches of additional rain was possible along the north coast as Charley moves through the area. Bonnie moved quickly and Charley was expected to do the same, being 70 miles south of Columbia by Saturday afternoon.
"We want them to go through the state and take their rain with them and their wind," Farmer said.
