Office Newsletter [8] Until Hurricane Lorenzo in 2019, Hugo was the easternmost Category 5 hurricane on record in the Atlantic. Power out. [15][16] It had been deployed to Barbados alongside another WP-3D Orion as part of a research experiment coordinated by the Hurricane Research Division. "National Research Council. NWS Wilmington, NC2015 Gardner DriveWilmington, NC 28405(910) 762-4289Comments? Hugo passed over St. Croix at 0600 UTC September 18. These coastal extents were directly exposed to intense rainbands associated with Hugo. Many homes, piers, and public buildings suffered severe damage on the two islands. Publications on Hurricane Hugo's Impacts and Effects. [107] Temporary housing assistance was extended to 30,000 storm victims in the state by the FEMA at a cost of $31 million. National Weather Service Charleston, SC Hurricane Hugo. The sloping terrain near Christiansted accelerated winds near the surface by as much as 20 percent, enhancing the damage wrought. These agencies were mobilized ahead of Hugo's arrival in the Lesser Antilles. At Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, sustained winds reached 77 mph (124 km/h), gusting to 92 mph (148 km/h). -The weak storm crossed Puerto Rico from east to west with winds of 50 mph and a pressure of 1004 millibars. Hurricane watches and warnings were issued by the National Hurricane Center for areas in Hugo's path from September 15–22; several hundred thousand people from the Caribbean to the continental U.S. would evacuate to safety. [8][2] In downtown Charleston, a sustained wind of 87 mph (141 km/h) and a gust of 108 mph (174 km/h) were reported. [31] At least six workers were killed while repairing power lines. Hurricane Georges in 1998 was only a Category 1 storm, but its path across the entirety of the island and its torrential rainfall make it one of the worst natural disasters in Puerto Rico… [101] Beach homes on Isle of Palms were moved 150 ft (46 m) off their foundations by an 11-foot (3.4 m) storm surge; in total, 60 homes were destroyed on the island. 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. I felt a sense of danger. As late as 7:00 a.m. we still had power although our cable TV service was already a casuality of the storm. As Hugo tracked northwest across the Sargasso Sea between September 19–20, tropical storm warnings were issued for coastal areas of the Dominican Republic and The Bahamas. We moved from the bedrooms into the hallway, where there were no windows. [76] Heavy rainfall with accumulations of up to 7 in (180 mm) triggered mudslides; one at the foot of Chances Peak wrecked 21 homes. Local Climate Records An immense salvage effort was undertaken to harvest downed pine trees for pulpwood before they deteriorated to the point where they could not be used. That scene was seared into my memory, but it would pale in comparison to my next encounter. [117] A conservative estimate valued the lost timber statewide at $1.04 billion. !’  We have very few windows on the news operations level of our building. Southeast Regional Radar One apple grower in Wilkes County lost 4000 trees to high winds. Due to Hugo's rapid forward speed and relatively large size, hurricane force winds were able to reach inland areas that almost never see such severe conditions. A very large number of trees were knocked down. Still standing timber that appeared usable for lumber and plywood frequently had annular separations of the rings that made them dangerous to saw and nearly impossible to cut into plies, so they were also downgraded into pulpwood, leading to such a drop in pulpwood prices that eventually much of the salvage effort ceased. [28] Tourists left en masse on departing flights before the airport terminated operations. Social Media Feeds Tropical After four years in Louisiana, I returned to the east coast in the fall of 1988 to start my tenure at WBTV. Sand was washed onto roads at the north end of Carolina Beach. While this particular long range forecast turned out to be pretty good, in all honesty I tried to forecast every hurricane to take a path like that! This cluster coalesced into a tropical depression and strengthened into a tropical storm—named Hugo—as it tracked west for several days. Between September 17–18, Hugo moved across the northeastern Caribbean as a slightly weaker system before emerging into the Sargasso Sea. [31] U.S. Coast Guard C-130s and two cutters were sent to San Juan to render aid and deliver supplies. [153] The economy of South Carolina continued to grow after Hugo, though some sectors did not benefit from recovery efforts. Skywarn [28] Military aircraft delivered 50 tons (45 tonnes) of supplies and over 500 emergency workers to Guadeloupe, along with Minister of Overseas France Louis Le Pensec;[38]:4A 3,000 soldiers also accompanied the transport. The watch was escalated to a hurricane warning three hours later. [2][150] A federal disaster area was declared for 24 counties in South Carolina. [103] At McClellanville, near the point of maximum storm surge, shrimp boats were pushed as far as 0.5 mi (0.80 km) inland. [8], Barbados served as a staging area for disaster response in the Caribbean due to its strategic position in the region and distance away from Hugo's forecast impacts. As I drove to work and saw the trees bending in the wind, I really felt vulnerable and thought I had waited too long to get to work. [72]:12 Emergency supplies from Paris were gathered by Catholic Air and Red Cross. More than 90 percent of buildings were damaged and vegetation was stripped bare throughout the island.