High winds and rain wreaked havoc across South Carolina on Tuesday, washing out a section of a highway in the state and scattering debris along local roadways.

Some 4,000 power outages have been reported in the Charleston area.

In north Charleston, strong winds knocked down a Best Buy sign near the entrance of the store.

Officials say the store was filled with customers returning Christmas gifts when the sign hit the ground.

"We had some really high winds going through," store manager Jeff Bagwell said. "They could hear it running across the ceiling when they heard the front end of the building make a pretty loud noise and then it came down."

"No one was hurt. We were very, very happy about that. We have it taped off to keep everyone safe," Bagwell said.

Forecasters say a strong low pressure system was responsible for the high winds.