Hurricane Hugo (1989)

Name: Hurricane Hugo (1989): track and modeled winds
Creator: NOAA/NWS National Hurricane Center

Hurricane Hugo was a Category 5 hurricane at its peak, with 161 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 918 mb, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Modeled winds reached tropical-storm force (39 mph) at 12 of the cities we track; the strongest was Charleston, SC, with a modeled peak gust of 135 mph.

Peak strength161 mph winds (1-minute): Category 5
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track: 12
LandfallsFirst September 17, 1989: 5
Lowest pressure: 918 mb

Track, wind field and cities

Select a piece of the track or a city for details.

Depression or weaker
Tropical storm
Hurricane, Category 1 or 2
Major hurricane, Category 3 to 5
Landfall
City (larger ring, stronger modeled gust)
Modeled wind field, 39 to 111 mph sustained (darker, stronger; orange 111 mph+)

Source: NOAA/NWS National Hurricane Center best track (HURDAT2). City winds and the wind field are modeled.

The shaded areas are where our model puts Hurricane Hugo’s sustained winds over open land at 39 mph or more (tropical-storm force), 58, 74 (hurricane force) and 111 mph (major hurricane force) at some point along its track. Modeled, not measured. How we model hurricane winds

Landfalls

September 17, 1989, Category 4 at 138 mph, in the French West Indies
September 18, 1989, Category 4 at 138 mph, in the US Virgin Islands
September 18, 1989, Category 3 at 127 mph, in Puerto Rico
September 18, 1989, Category 3 at 127 mph, in Puerto Rico
September 22, 1989, Category 4 at 138 mph, about 10 miles from Charleston, SC

Modeled winds at cities (12)

Estimated peak winds for open, flat ground at each city’s center. Not measurements. How we model hurricane winds

City	Peak gust	Sustained	Closest pass	Peak
Charleston, SC	135 mph	110 mph	8 miles	Sep 21, 1989, 11:30 PM EDT
Myrtle Beach, SC	86 mph	70 mph	78 miles	Sep 22, 1989, 12:00 AM EDT
Hilton Head Island, SC	79 mph	64 mph	69 miles	Sep 21, 1989, 11:45 PM EDT
Charlotte, NC	77 mph	63 mph	24 miles	Sep 22, 1989, 5:15 AM EDT
Columbia, SC	73 mph	60 mph	15 miles	Sep 22, 1989, 2:30 AM EDT
Hickory, NC	64 mph	52 mph	15 miles	Sep 22, 1989, 6:15 AM EDT
Savannah, GA	59 mph	48 mph	98 miles	Sep 21, 1989, 11:45 PM EDT
Winston-Salem, NC	55 mph	45 mph	79 miles	Sep 22, 1989, 6:45 AM EDT
Fayetteville, NC	51 mph	42 mph	115 miles	Sep 22, 1989, 3:30 AM EDT
Wilmington, NC	49 mph	40 mph	144 miles	Sep 22, 1989, 12:00 AM EDT
Greensboro, NC	49 mph	40 mph	101 miles	Sep 22, 1989, 6:15 AM EDT
Spartanburg, SC	49 mph	40 mph	40 miles	Sep 22, 1989, 4:45 AM EDT

What happened

After crossing the northeast Caribbean, Hugo came ashore at Sullivan's Island, just north of Charleston, South Carolina, around midnight on September 22, 1989, as a Category 4 hurricane.^1,2 NHC's best track puts landfall at 0400 UTC with 120-knot (138 mph) winds and a 934 mb central pressure.³ The center passed between Columbia and Shaw Air Force Base, then weakened to a tropical storm as it passed just west of Charlotte, North Carolina.^2,4

Storm tides reached 19.8 feet above mean sea level at Bulls Bay, 15.0 feet at Isle of Palms, 13.0 feet at Sullivan's Island, 11.9 feet at Folly Beach and 10.4 feet in downtown Charleston.¹ Measured gusts reached 108 mph in downtown Charleston, 107 mph at Folly Beach and 98 mph at the North Charleston airport.¹ Inland, Shaw Air Force Base reported a 110 mph gust and Charlotte reported a 99 mph gust.⁵ Most buildings in downtown Charleston were significantly damaged, and most homes on Sullivan's Island and Isle of Palms were left uninhabitable.¹ NHC counts 21 deaths on the US mainland and estimates mainland damage at $7 billion.⁵

Sources

1. NWS Charleston, SC: Hurricane Hugo, September 21-22, 1989
2. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Preliminary Report, Hurricane Hugo, 10-22 September 1989 (scanned page 1)
3. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT2), 1851 to 2025
4. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Preliminary Report, Hurricane Hugo, 10-22 September 1989 (scanned page 2)
5. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Hurricane History: Hugo 1989

Best track (64 positions)

Time	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position
Sep 10, 12:00 UTC	Tropical depression	29 mph	1010 mb	13.2°N, 20.0°W
Sep 10, 18:00 UTC	Tropical depression	29 mph	1010 mb	13.3°N, 21.8°W
Sep 11, 00:00 UTC	Tropical depression	35 mph	1009 mb	13.2°N, 23.7°W
Sep 11, 06:00 UTC	Tropical depression	35 mph	1007 mb	13.0°N, 25.5°W
Sep 11, 12:00 UTC	Tropical depression	35 mph	1005 mb	12.8°N, 27.3°W
Sep 11, 18:00 UTC	Tropical storm	40 mph	1003 mb	12.5°N, 29.2°W
Sep 12, 00:00 UTC	Tropical storm	46 mph	1002 mb	12.5°N, 31.0°W
Sep 12, 06:00 UTC	Tropical storm	52 mph	1000 mb	12.5°N, 32.9°W
Sep 12, 12:00 UTC	Tropical storm	52 mph	998 mb	12.5°N, 34.8°W
Sep 12, 18:00 UTC	Tropical storm	58 mph	996 mb	12.6°N, 36.7°W
Sep 13, 00:00 UTC	Tropical storm	63 mph	994 mb	12.6°N, 38.2°W
Sep 13, 06:00 UTC	Tropical storm	63 mph	992 mb	12.7°N, 40.0°W
Sep 13, 12:00 UTC	Tropical storm	69 mph	990 mb	12.8°N, 41.8°W
Sep 13, 18:00 UTC	Category 1 hurricane	75 mph	987 mb	12.8°N, 43.5°W
Sep 14, 00:00 UTC	Category 1 hurricane	81 mph	984 mb	12.9°N, 44.9°W
Sep 14, 06:00 UTC	Category 1 hurricane	92 mph	980 mb	13.0°N, 46.3°W
Sep 14, 12:00 UTC	Category 2 hurricane	98 mph	975 mb	13.2°N, 47.8°W
Sep 14, 18:00 UTC	Category 2 hurricane	104 mph	970 mb	13.6°N, 49.1°W
Sep 15, 00:00 UTC	Category 3 hurricane	115 mph	962 mb	13.8°N, 50.5°W
Sep 15, 06:00 UTC	Category 3 hurricane	127 mph	957 mb	14.0°N, 51.9°W
Sep 15, 12:00 UTC	Category 4 hurricane	144 mph	940 mb	14.2°N, 53.3°W
Sep 15, 18:00 UTC	Category 5 hurricane	161 mph	918 mb	14.6°N, 54.6°W
Sep 16, 00:00 UTC	Category 4 hurricane	155 mph	923 mb	14.8°N, 56.1°W
Sep 16, 06:00 UTC	Category 4 hurricane	150 mph	927 mb	15.1°N, 57.3°W
Sep 16, 12:00 UTC	Category 4 hurricane	138 mph	940 mb	15.4°N, 58.4°W
Sep 16, 18:00 UTC	Category 4 hurricane	138 mph	941 mb	15.8°N, 59.4°W
Sep 17, 00:00 UTC	Category 4 hurricane	138 mph	941 mb	16.1°N, 60.4°W
Sep 17, 05:00 UTC (landfall)	Category 4 hurricane	138 mph	941 mb	16.3°N, 61.3°W
Sep 17, 06:00 UTC	Category 4 hurricane	138 mph	943 mb	16.4°N, 61.5°W
Sep 17, 12:00 UTC	Category 4 hurricane	144 mph	949 mb	16.6°N, 62.5°W
Sep 17, 18:00 UTC	Category 4 hurricane	144 mph	945 mb	16.9°N, 63.5°W
Sep 18, 00:00 UTC	Category 4 hurricane	150 mph	934 mb	17.2°N, 64.1°W
Sep 18, 06:00 UTC (landfall)	Category 4 hurricane	138 mph	940 mb	17.7°N, 64.8°W
Sep 18, 12:00 UTC (landfall)	Category 3 hurricane	127 mph	945 mb	18.2°N, 65.5°W
Sep 18, 13:00 UTC (landfall)	Category 3 hurricane	127 mph	946 mb	18.3°N, 65.6°W
Sep 18, 18:00 UTC	Category 3 hurricane	121 mph	958 mb	19.1°N, 66.4°W
Sep 19, 00:00 UTC	Category 3 hurricane	115 mph	959 mb	19.7°N, 66.8°W
Sep 19, 06:00 UTC	Category 2 hurricane	104 mph	962 mb	20.7°N, 67.3°W
Sep 19, 12:00 UTC	Category 2 hurricane	104 mph	964 mb	21.6°N, 68.0°W
Sep 19, 18:00 UTC	Category 2 hurricane	104 mph	966 mb	22.6°N, 68.6°W
Sep 20, 00:00 UTC	Category 2 hurricane	104 mph	957 mb	23.5°N, 69.3°W
Sep 20, 06:00 UTC	Category 2 hurricane	104 mph	957 mb	24.4°N, 70.1°W
Sep 20, 12:00 UTC	Category 2 hurricane	109 mph	958 mb	25.2°N, 71.0°W
Sep 20, 18:00 UTC	Category 2 hurricane	109 mph	953 mb	26.3°N, 72.2°W
Sep 21, 00:00 UTC	Category 3 hurricane	115 mph	950 mb	27.2°N, 73.4°W
Sep 21, 06:00 UTC	Category 3 hurricane	115 mph	950 mb	28.0°N, 74.9°W
Sep 21, 12:00 UTC	Category 3 hurricane	127 mph	948 mb	29.0°N, 76.1°W
Sep 21, 18:00 UTC	Category 4 hurricane	138 mph	944 mb	30.2°N, 77.5°W
Sep 22, 00:00 UTC	Category 4 hurricane	138 mph	935 mb	31.7°N, 78.8°W
Sep 22, 04:00 UTC (landfall)	Category 4 hurricane	138 mph	934 mb	32.8°N, 79.8°W
Sep 22, 06:00 UTC	Category 2 hurricane	98 mph	952 mb	33.5°N, 80.3°W
Sep 22, 12:00 UTC	Tropical storm	63 mph	975 mb	35.9°N, 81.7°W
Sep 22, 18:00 UTC	Tropical storm	46 mph	987 mb	38.5°N, 81.8°W
Sep 23, 00:00 UTC	Post-tropical	40 mph	988 mb	42.2°N, 80.2°W
Sep 23, 06:00 UTC	Post-tropical	46 mph	990 mb	46.0°N, 74.5°W
Sep 23, 12:00 UTC	Post-tropical	46 mph	992 mb	49.0°N, 69.0°W
Sep 23, 18:00 UTC	Post-tropical	46 mph	993 mb	51.0°N, 65.0°W
Sep 24, 00:00 UTC	Post-tropical	46 mph	994 mb	52.0°N, 62.0°W
Sep 24, 06:00 UTC	Post-tropical	46 mph	993 mb	52.5°N, 60.5°W
Sep 24, 12:00 UTC	Post-tropical	46 mph	991 mb	53.0°N, 59.5°W
Sep 24, 18:00 UTC	Post-tropical	46 mph	989 mb	53.5°N, 58.5°W
Sep 25, 00:00 UTC	Post-tropical	46 mph	983 mb	54.0°N, 57.0°W
Sep 25, 06:00 UTC	Post-tropical	46 mph	979 mb	56.0°N, 52.0°W
Sep 25, 12:00 UTC	Post-tropical	46 mph	974 mb	58.0°N, 46.0°W

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