<P> Hurricane Hugo was a powerful Cape Verde--type hurricane that caused widespread damage and loss of life in Guadeloupe, Saint Croix, Puerto Rico, and the Southeast United States . It formed over the eastern Atlantic near the Cape Verde Islands on September 9, 1989 . Hugo moved thousands of miles across the Atlantic, rapidly strengthening to briefly attain category 5 hurricane strength on its journey . It later crossed over Guadeloupe and St. Croix on September 17 and 18 as a category 4 hurricane . Weakening slightly more, it passed over Puerto Rico as a strong category 3 hurricane . Further weakening occurred several hours after re-emerging into the Atlantic, becoming downgraded to a category 2 hurricane . However, it re-strengthened into a category 4 hurricane before making landfall just slightly north of Charleston, on Isle of Palms on September 21 with 140 mph sustained winds (gusts to more than 160 mph). It had devolved to a remnant low near Lake Erie by the next day . As of 2016, Hurricane Hugo is the most intense tropical cyclone to strike the East Coast north of Florida since 1900 . </P> <P> Hurricane Hugo caused 34 fatalities (most by electrocution or drowning) in the Caribbean and 27 in South Carolina, left nearly 100,000 homeless, and resulted in $10 billion (1989 USD) in damage overall, making it the most damaging hurricane ever recorded at the time . Of this total, $7 billion was from the United States and Puerto Rico, ranking it as the costliest storm to impact the country at the time . Since 1989, however, it has been surpassed by multiple storms and now ranks as the eleventh costliest in the United States . </P> <P> Hurricane Hugo originated as a tropical wave (which also spawned Hurricane Raymond), which moved off the west coast of Africa on September 9 . Soon after moving off the African coast, it was classified as Tropical Depression Eleven southeast of the Cape Verde Islands . Winds were initially 30 mph (48 km / h) but they reached 35 mph (56 km / h) soon after . Moving on a steady westward track at 18 knots (21 mph, 33 k / h), Tropical Depression Eleven steadily intensified, becoming Tropical Storm Hugo on September 11 at 1800 UTC . On September 13, Hugo rapidly intensified, and reached hurricane strength 1265 miles (2035 km) east of the Leeward Islands . A low - pressure area to the south caused Hugo to gradually turn to the west - northwest, while the storm was slowly strengthening . Shortly after, Hurricane Hugo began to rapidly intensify; 24 hours after it was classified as a hurricane, it had become a category 2 hurricane . After this bout of rapid strengthening, Hugo began to rapidly deepen, becoming a major hurricane early the next morning . </P> <P> After becoming a major hurricane, and maintaining Category 3 strength for a day, Hugo reached Category 4 strength, and began to rapidly intensify again, while moving slowly west - northwest . Becoming a Category 5 Hurricane, its maximum sustained winds had increased to 160 mph (260 km / h) and the minimum central pressure had dropped to 918 millibars (27.1 inHg). In the early hours of September 17, Hugo crossed in between Guadeloupe and Montserrat while its winds were near 140 mph (230 km / h), when hurricane - force winds extended only 45 mi (72 km) from the center . Less than 24 hours later, it made another landfall on the island of St. Croix, with the same intensity . That day, Hurricane Hugo also made landfalls in Puerto Rico, in Vieques and Fajardo, though it was slightly weaker . </P>

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