Hurricane Gracie (1959)

Gracie, which formed near Hispaniola, made landfall at St. Helena Sound, South Carolina, around noon EST on September 29, 1959, as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds near 130 mph and a central pressure of 951 mb.¹

A gust of 138 mph was measured near Beaufort, and gusts were estimated near 150 mph along the coast of Beaufort, Colleton and Charleston counties, damaging many structures.¹ The Weather Bureau's preliminary report called it the worst hurricane wind damage in Beaufort's history.¹ Gracie came ashore at low tide, which held down the surge, but water still rose to 8.14 feet above mean lower low water in Charleston Harbor.¹ On Folly Beach every oceanfront house was damaged and roads on the east side of the island washed out.¹ Winds of 100 mph hit Walterboro inland, and a tornado damaged homes in Garden City near Myrtle Beach.¹ A Red Cross survey on October 2 counted 48 homes destroyed, 349 with major damage and 4,115 with minor damage between Beaufort and Charleston and inland to Walterboro.¹ The Charleston Weather Bureau estimated damage at $5 to $10 million and perhaps more, and 10 people died in South Carolina and Georgia.¹