<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> <P> Hugo began to accelerate to the northwest soon after exiting eastern Puerto Rico . On September 18, the hurricane was located a couple of hundred miles east of Florida when it began a more northward track, in response to a steering flow associated with an upper - level low pressure area that was moving across the southeastern United States . Hugo then began to strengthen again, and it reached a secondary peak at 1800 UTC on September 21 as a Category 4 hurricane . The maximum sustained winds were 140 mph (230 km / h), while the minimum central pressure was 944 millibars (27.9 inHg). On September 22 at 0400 UTC, Hugo made landfall on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, at its secondary peak as a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir--Simpson Hurricane Scale with 140 - mph sustained winds and a central pressure of 934 millibars (27.6 inHg). </P> <P> The storm continued inland, and weakened to a very strong tropical storm as it passed over Charlotte, North Carolina . Hugo continued on the weakening trend and weakened to a tropical storm later on the same day over central North Carolina . The storm continued weakening as it moved inland, and on September 23, the storm weakened to a remnant low . Its remnant low continued to accelerate north, and it reached the far northern Atlantic before dissipating on September 25 . </P> <P> Late on September 15, the National Weather Service Office in San Juan, Puerto Rico issued a hurricane watch . On the following day, it was upgraded to a hurricane warning . In addition, the Civil Defense Office of Puerto Rico activated its Disaster Interagency Committee and began to evacuate coastal residents . Savannah was evacuated in anticipation of Hugo, but saw no effects of the storm other than isolated and light showers . Had Hugo hit Savannah, it would have been the first major hurricane to make landfall in Georgia since Hurricane Seven of the 1898 season . Governor Carroll Campbell of South Carolina ordered an evacuation of the South Carolina coast in advance of the storm . </P>

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