what course did hugo take through nc

What path did Hurricane Hugo take?

South CarolinaPuerto RicoNorth CarolinaU.S. Virgin IslandsGuadeloupeVirginiaHurricane Hugo/Affected areas

What category was Hugo when it hit Charlotte NC?

Hugo made landfall near Charleston, South Carolina, and it reached Charlotte about five hours later. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Thirty-two years ago, a Category 4 Hurricane ravaged the Carolinas.

When did Hugo come through North Carolina?

By mid-day on September 21, Hugo reached Category-4 status with maximum sustained winds of 138 mph. It would hold that strength until it made landfall just northeast of Charleston around midnight on Friday, September 22.

What category was Hugo when it hit South Carolina?

Category 4 stormTwenty-five years ago around midnight on September 22, Hurricane Hugo made landfall just north of Charleston, South Carolina at Sullivan's Island as a Category 4 storm with estimated maximum winds of 135-140 mph and a minimum central pressure of 934 millibars (27.58 inches of Hg).

What category storm was Hugo?

Category 5 Hurricane (SSHWS)Hurricane Hugo / Category

How many Category 5 hurricanes have hit the US?

Only four Category 5 hurricanes have ever made landfall in the U.S., and nearly all have occurred during a two-week period that runs from August 17 to September 2. The names of the hurricanes are the most notorious in weather history and will never be used to identify a cyclone again.

What is the strongest hurricane to hit South Carolina?

HugoHugo was the strongest hurricane to make landfall on the continental U.S. since Hurricane Camille in 1969. Along the coast of South Carolina, Hugo set new records for storm surge heights along the U.S. East Coast, reaching 20.2 ft (6.2 m) near McClellanville, South Carolina.

Whats the worst hurricane in history?

#1: Hurricane Maria (2017) With maximum sustained winds over 175 miles per hour, Hurricane Maria blasted Puerto Rico to claim more than 3,000 lives and generate nearly $100 billion in property damage. It remains the deadliest Atlantic hurricane in recorded history.

Has a hurricane ever hit Charlotte?

Hurricanes are part of life on the North Carolina coast, but they rarely go far inland—especially not in Charlotte, which is 200 miles away from the ocean. But Charlotte residents got first-hand experience when the gale-force winds of Hurricane Hugo made landfall in 1989.

What category storm was Sandy?

Category 3 Hurricane (SSHWS)Hurricane Sandy / Category

Did Hurricane Hugo spawn tornadoes?

Meteorologists estimate that some 3,000 tornadoes were spawned as Hugo ripped a swath of destruction through the state. Twenty-nine of South Carolina's 46 counties were declared disaster areas.

When did Hurricane Hugo hit the Carolinas?

September 9, 1989 – September 25, 1989Hurricane Hugo / Date

What was the worst hurricane to hit North Carolina?

Hurricane Hazel was the most powerful hurricane to ever hit North Carolina. The storm caused major flooding and damage as it made landfall in October 1954.

Does Charlotte NC get hit by hurricanes?

Charlotte, NC While North Carolina often gets hit by hurricanes, Charlotte is located far enough inland to avoid the worst of it. The area is also considered low risk for other dangerous natural disasters, including earthquakes, fires, and tornadoes.

How did Hugo affect Charlotte?

Countless trees crashed into homes and fell across power lines , creating widespread and long-lasting power outages. Newspaper reports indicated 85 percent of homes and businesses in Charlotte were without power after the storm. Downtown skyscrapers in Charlotte had large windows blown out by winds, raining debris into the streets below. Hugo was responsible for three fatalities in the Charlotte area where winds reached 99 mph.

How fast did Hugo's winds go?

Passage over the mountains of Puerto Rico caused Hugo to weaken and the winds fell to 105 mph.

What category was Hurricane Hugo?

Hugo weakened to a category 4 hurricane on Sept. 16 as it aimed at the Leeward Islands of Guadeloupe and Montserrat. Hugo blasted St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands early in the morning of Sept. 18 before slamming through Puerto Rico. The airport in San Juan registered wind gusts up to 92 mph, with 120 mph gusts measured at ...

What was the impact of Hugo's storm surge?

McClellanville, S.C.: McClellanville was severely impacted by Hugo’s wind and storm surge. Many homes and businesses were destroyed, and the storm surge carried boats from the rivers and marshes across highways and left them haphazardly strewn around. Lincoln High School in McClellanville was selected as an emergency evacuation shelter due to maps indicating an elevation of 20 feet above sea level. The actual elevation was only 10 feet above sea level, meaning Hugo’s 16 foot storm surge swept 6 feet of seawater into the school gynmasium full of evacuees. Wind gusts reached 130 mph.

How far inland was Hurricane Hugo?

A 20-foot storm surge at the coast and hurricane-force wind gusts observed 200 miles inland, Hugo delivered severe impacts to both South and North Carolina. For many Hugo became the storm of a generation.

What happened in 1989 in the North Carolina foothills?

North Carolina Western Piedmont and Foothills: Hugo finally weakened below hurricane strength as it accelerated northward between Hickory and Morganton during the morning of Sept. 22, 1989. Wind gusts reached hurricane-force and blew down millions of trees from Gastonia and Lincolnton through Hickory and the remainder of the North Carolina foothills. One apple grower in Wilkes County lost 4000 trees to high winds. Widespread power outages lasted weeks in some remote locations.

How much damage did Hurricane Hugo cause?

The storm was responsible for at least 86 fatalities and caused at least $8 to $10 billion in damage.

Why did people have 24 hours to evacuate?

People had 24 hours or less to evacuate because Hugo was closing in fast. Nearly 250,000 people left. Campbell briefly reversed all lanes of Interstate 26 out of Charleston when it appeared people would be caught on the highway in the storm.

How many people died cleaning up after Hugo?

Twenty-two people died cleaning up after Hugo in South Carolina.

How many people died in the Isle of Palms storm?

Thirteen people in South Carolina died in the storm. But even though the ocean washed completely over Isle of Palms — almost over the second story of some buildings — none of the barrier island's 3,700 residents were killed. They had nearly all left.

When was Hurricane Hugo?

Hurricane Hugo is seen just above Charlotte in September 1989.

What was the most destructive hurricane in the Caribbean?

Hurricane watches and warnings were issued by the National Hurricane Center for areas in Hugo 's path from September 15 to 22; several hundred thousand people from the Caribbean to the continental U.S. would evacuate to safety. Hugo was the strongest hurricane to strike the northeastern Caribbean since 1979. The hurricane proved to be among the most destructive storms in history for several islands in the region. Guadeloupe bore the brunt of the storm in the Leeward Islands, sustaining damage to the entirety of its banana crop and most of its coconut palms and sugar cane crop. Three thousand houses were unroofed, contributing to the displacement of 35,000 people from their homes. Hugo was Montserrat 's costliest hurricane on record and brought down the island's entire power grid. Ninety percent of homes on the island suffered significant to total roof loss after the island was struck by the eyewall.

What was the strongest hurricane in Guadeloupe?

Guadeloupe sustained the heaviest impacts among the Leeward Islands from Hugo. The hurricane made landfall on the island at 05:00 UTC on September 17 (01:00 a.m. AST) as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds estimated at 140 mph (220 km/h). This made Hugo the strongest hurricane to strike Guadeloupe since a hurricane each in 1899 and 1928. A minimum air pressure of 941.1 mbar (hPa; 27.79 inHg) was recorded at Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport, with a 97-mile-per-hour (156 km/h) wind gust documented in the last weather observation transmitted from Pointe-à-Pitre. A ship in the wharf at Pointe-à-Pitre reported a gust of 184 mph (296 km/h). Though unmeasured, French meteorological service Météo-France estimates that wind gusts may have reached 200 mph (325 km/h). The effects of Hugo lasted for about 48 hours in Guadeloupe, with the strongest winds occurring within a 3-hour window. Rainfall totals ranged from 3.1 in (80 mm) along the southern part of Guadeloupe to 13.8 in (350 mm) in more mountainous areas. Hourly rainfall rates averaged roughly 2 in (50 mm) per hour in the core of the hurricane. A station in Gardel documented 3.66 in (93 mm) of rain in one hour. Along Grand Cul-de-Sac Marin, storm surge from Hugo elevated the seas to 10 ft (3 m) above mean sea level.

Which islands were hardest hit by Hugo?

Guadeloupe and Montserrat were hardest-hit among the Leeward Islands, and collectively suffered over $1 billion in damage and recorded 21 fatalities. Though less severe, widespread damage was also inflicted by Hugo across the remainder of the Leeward and Windward Islands.

How many times did the planes hit the eye of Hugo?

Air Force (USAF) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) penetrated the eye of Hugo 76 times, documenting the location of the storm's center roughly once every two hours. Among these planes was a WP-3D Orion serviced by the NOAA and nicknamed Kermit ( callsign N42RF ). It had been deployed to Barbados alongside another WP-3D Orion as part of a research experiment coordinated by the Hurricane Research Division. While penetrating the storm at an altitude of 1,500 ft (460 m), the plane encountered extreme turbulence and sustained winds of 190 mph (305 km/h) at flight level, indicating a storm more intense than satellite estimates suggested. Flight data showed that the plane likely encountered a mesovortex comparable to a weak tornado spanning a kilometer across. One of Kermit 's four engines overheated within the hurricane's eyewall, prompting its shutdown that caused the plane to quickly lose altitude as it entered the eye. The pilots regained control when the plane reached an altitude of 790 ft (240 m) at 17:28 UTC. To avoid overworking the three remaining engines, the pilots orbited the center of Hugo for an hour within the 9-mile-wide (14 km) eye while bringing the plane to a gradual ascent. Fuel was also ejected from Kermit 's lower fuselage. The plane climbed to an altitude of 7,200 ft (2,200 m) before departing the eye via the northeast eyewall and returning to Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados.

How fast was Hurricane Hugo?

On September 13, Hugo became a hurricane and continued to intensify until its winds topped out at Category 5 strength with speeds of 160 mph (260 km/h). At the time, Hugo was the easternmost Category 5 on record in the Atlantic.

What is the category of Hurricane Hugo?

Hurricane Hugo as a Category 5 hurricane.

How many people were affected by Hurricane Hugo?

Across its track, Hugo affected approximately 2 million people. Its direct effects killed 67 people and inflicted $11 billion in damage.

What decibel level did Hugo close in on?

Finally, as Hugo closed in, the decibel level rose into one continuous scream—a ceaseless high-pitched whine fused with the thunderous growl of 100 freight trains. The barometric pressure dropped, and the cats began to howl, one so panicked it tried to claw its way up the wall. I checked the barometer. It registered 28.1, the lowest I’d ever seen. The needle pointed to the word “hurricane.” Hugo had arrived.

What happened to the people who went through Hurricane Hugo?

Everyone who went through Hurricane Hugo has a story—a memory as dramatic and unforgettable as the storm itself. Hugo left us with boats on land, houses in water, and fish in places where fish aren’t supposed to be. People heard roaring winds that sounded like freight trains and watched rising waters float cars and buildings like rubber ducks in a tub. For some, these images are as indelible today as they were 25 years ago when Hugo slammed into Charleston on the night of September 21, 1989.

How high was the storm surge in McClellanville?

In the fishing village of McClellanville, the storm surge was nearly 20 feet high. Hurricane Hugo left us stunned, in a state of shock and awe. Some 56,000 people were homeless, their houses either gone or in such disrepair that they were unlivable. There was no electricity.

Was the Lincoln High shelter moved?

The shelter was never moved. That none of the some 600 people who spent the night of September 21st at Lincoln High were killed is one of Hugo’s miracles. Then-principal Jennings Austin was at the school during Hugo and recalls that people began settling in around 4 p.m.: “We weren’t real concerned at first. Even when the power went out around 9 p.m., leaving us in the spooky emergency lighting, it wasn’t so bad. We could hear the wind howling outside but the building was built as solid as a rock. We hoped that we might get through the night without incident.”

When did Hurricane Irma hit Charlotte?

A Terrifying, Deadly Storm Struck Charlotte In 1989… . And No One Saw It Coming. Hurricane Irma is making her way through the Caribbean, heading straight towards the U.S., and many Charlotteans are remembering a similar hurricane that struck the Carolinas back in 1989.

Is Hurricane Irma a Category 5 hurricane?

As of early Thursday morning, Hurricane Irma remains a Category 5 storm, and both North and South Carolina have declared a state of emergency as the hurricane barrels towards shore. Keep up-to-date on the status of this storm through credible news organizations, like the National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center, the Weather Channel’s Irma forecasts, and the continuously-updated NWS Twitter page for the Carolinas region. The N.C. Department of Public Safety and North Carolina Emergency Management have even developed a special ReadyNC app that can be downloaded here.

Where did Hurricane Hugo form?

Hurricane Hugo formed in the Atlantic and gained strength as it traveled along its path towards the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, and the U.S.

When did Hugo hit Charlotte?

From Charleston, Hugo tore through the Western part of North Carolina and hit Charlotte in the early morning hours of September 22, while many residents slept in their homes.

Hugo Hits the Coast

In some storms, strength is secondary to the overall impacts. Floyd, for instance, is remembered far more for its inland flooding than for the lashing its Category-2 winds gave to the southern coast.

Impacts Inland

Hugo’s biggest hit in our state came in the overnight hours that followed. Tropical systems inevitably weaken after moving over land, deprived of the warm water that fuels their intensity while their winds are blunted by the friction of the earth’s surface.

Still Standing Out

There’s a reason why pretty much anyone who spent the late ’80s in the western Piedmont will tell you Hugo is bar-none the worst hurricane they’ve ever been through. It was the strongest storm to hit Charlotte since the 1893 Sea Islands Hurricane.

Impact

Origin

Course

• Hugo was steered across the Atlantic by the east-southeasterly flow around the southern edge of subtropical high pressure over the western Atlantic. The western periphery of this high extended to just off the Mid-Atlantic and New England coastline. As upper level low pressure developed over the eastern Gulf Coast states, a relatively narrow corrido...

See more on weather.gov

Results

Significance

Trivia

Effects

Conservation

Incidents

Wildlife

Overview

Hurricane Hugo was a powerful Cape Verde tropical cyclone that inflicted widespread damage across the northeastern Caribbean and the Southeastern United States in September 1989. Across its track, Hugo affected approximately 2 million people. Its direct effects killed 67 people and inflicted $11 billion (equivalent to $24 billion in 2021) in damage. The damage wrought by the storm was more costly than any Atlantic hurricane preceding it. At its peak strength east of the Le…

Meteorological history

Preparations

Impact

Aftermath

See also

Further reading

External links