Infrared image of Hugo at landfall from the National Hurricane Center.
Back on September 22nd, 1989 I was only 8 years old, but the day was far from ordinary. On this day, 25 years ago, Hurricane Hugo made landfall in South Carolina with sustained winds of 135 - 140 mph and also sparked my life-long interest in weather. Let's look back at this incredible storm.
Hurricane Hugo began its life as a Cape Verde storm, originating off the coast of West Africa and making the long trek across the Atlantic (track map). Just before reaching the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean, Hugo rapidly intensified, briefly achieving Category 5 strength with winds of 160 mph and a central pressure of 918 mb. Hugo's first encounter with land was near Guadeloupe where the slightly weakened storm crossed with 140 mph winds. The hurricane went on to strike Puerto Rico, then experienced a weakening trend as it turned northwest. Unfortunately, the storm regained strength north of the Bahamas and reached Category 4 status over the warm Gulf Stream waters.
Visible Satellite image from NOAA on September 21st over the Gulf Stream.
During the evening of September 22nd, at its secondary peak, Hugo made landfall just north of Charleston, SC over Isle of Palms with a central pressure of 934 mb and sustained winds up to 140 mph (for the record, Superstorm Sandy's central pressure was 946 mb).
Radar imagery at landfall courtesy of NOAA and Peter Dodge.
Besides wind damage, Hugo also produced one of the highest storm tides on record reaching near 20 feet at Bulls Bay, SC creating massive coastal flooding.
Aftermath of the storm surge at Surfside Beach, SC, image courtesy of the National Hurricane Center.
In addition, over 10 inches of rain fell just south of landfall. Charlotte, NC, well inland, was caught off guard by the high rate of speed of Hugo as the center reached the city only six hours after landfall. Hugo's fast pace allowed wind gusts over 80 mph to reach the city with significant damage and power outages into the Appalachains. In total, Hugo inflicted $7 billion in damage in the US and Puerto Rico, with 5.9 billion of that occuring in South Carolina. Fittingly, due to the extensive damage, Hugo will never again be used to name another Atlantic hurricane.
