1989 North Atlantic hurricane season
Hurricane Hugo 1989
Hurricane Hugo devastated the northeastern Caribbean and South Carolina in September 1989. Its series of major-hurricane landfalls damaged homes, infrastructure, crops and forests across a long path from the Leeward Islands into the United States.
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161 mph
Sep 15, 1989 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
Major landfalls in the Caribbean
Hugo developed near Cape Verde on 10 September and strengthened while moving west across the Atlantic. The archive records peak one-minute winds of 140 kt on 15 September. It subsequently struck Guadeloupe, Saint Croix and Puerto Rico while remaining a major hurricane.
Guadeloupe suffered widespread roof and crop damage. Montserrat lost its entire power grid, and most homes sustained severe roof damage. More than 90 percent of buildings on Saint Croix were damaged, while Puerto Rico experienced extensive power and water failures and thousands of displaced residents.
Surge and wind in South Carolina
Hugo reached South Carolina early on 22 September UTC. Storm surge near McClellanville reached about 20.2 feet, devastating coastal buildings and infrastructure. Strong winds continued far inland, heavily damaging forests across South Carolina and neighboring states.
Reported damage across Hugo's full path reached about US$11 billion in 1989 values. The storm weakened inland and accelerated north, with its later circulation tracked into the far northern Atlantic. Hugo's name was retired after the season.
IMPACT
Reported impact
| Areas affected | Puerto Rico, Saint Croix |
|---|
Facts from Wikidata.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Hugo in brief
What was Hurricane Hugo's highest wind speed?
161 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Sep 15, 1989, 06:00 PM UTC.
What category was Hurricane Hugo?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Sep 15, 1989, 06:00 PM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Hurricane Hugo's lowest pressure?
918 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Sep 15, 1989, 06:00 PM UTC.
When did Hurricane Hugo occur?
The archived track runs from Sep 10, 1989, 12:00 PM UTC to Sep 25, 1989, 12:00 PM UTC, with the tropical stage from Sep 10, 1989, 12:00 PM UTC to Sep 22, 1989, 09:00 PM UTC.
Where did Hurricane Hugo form?
In the North Atlantic basin, in the 1989 season. Its first archived position is 13.2°N, 20°W on Sep 10, 1989, 12:00 PM UTC.
Did Hurricane Hugo make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 2 recorded positions; the strongest is 138 mph on Sep 22, 1989, 04:00 AM UTC. Positions are six-hourly, so this is not a landfall chronology.
METHODOLOGY
Data sources and limitations
The map and summary are generated from NOAA's IBTrACS v04r01 archive. Wind and category use US-agency records; minimum pressure is calculated during the tropical stage, with the archive's pressure source retained. Category 5 refers to the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale; local agencies may use different classifications. Coastlines use Natural Earth's 1:10m land data.
Track distance adds great-circle distances between consecutive observations, excluding gaps over 12 hours. This track has no gaps over 12 hours. The line shows the storm's center, not its size, rainfall or flood extent. Converted wind speeds are rounded to the nearest whole unit.
Archive retrieved
NOAA IBTrACS archive and Field documentation
Sources & methodology