Hurricane Hugo (1989)

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · September 10–25, 1989

Peak wind

161 mph

259 km/h · Sep 15

Peak category

Cat 5

Saffir–Simpson

Lowest pressure

918 mb

Landfalls

Guadeloupe · U.S. Virgin Islands

Lifetime

15.0 d

Sep 10 – Sep 25

Distance

7,012 mi

11,282 km

ACE

42.7

storm energy

TD TS Cat 1 2 3 4 5 · dashed = post-tropical / remnant low. Click any point or table row to jump there.

01 · The story

What happened with Hugo

Hurricane Hugo (1989) was a Category 5 hurricane of the 1989 Atlantic season. It formed on September 10, 1989, 200 mi WSW of Dakar, Senegal, reached its peak of 161 mph (259 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 918 mb on September 15, 1989, and made landfall 5 times — first near Le Moule, Guadeloupe on September 17, 1989 as a Category 4 hurricane (138 mph). Later landfalls: near Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands on September 18, 1989 as a Category 4 hurricane (138 mph); near Isabel Segunda, Puerto Rico on September 18, 1989 as a Category 3 hurricane (127 mph); near Fajardo, Puerto Rico on September 18, 1989 as a Category 3 hurricane (127 mph); and more. It rapidly intensified by 57 mph in 24 hours (to 161 mph on September 15, 1989). The storm lasted 15.0 days and travelled about 7,012 miles (11,282 km).

02 · Intensity

Wind and pressure, hour by hour

Maximum sustained wind (mph) — hover or drag to scrub the map

03 · Impact

Landfalls and cities in the path

Landfall (UTC)	Where	Strength	Pressure
September 17, 1989 · 05:00 UTC	near Le Moule, Guadeloupe	Cat 4 138 mph	941 mb
September 18, 1989 · 06:00 UTC	near Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands	Cat 4 138 mph	940 mb
September 18, 1989 · 12:00 UTC	near Isabel Segunda, Puerto Rico	Cat 3 127 mph	945 mb
September 18, 1989 · 13:00 UTC	near Fajardo, Puerto Rico	Cat 3 127 mph	946 mb
September 22, 1989 · 04:00 UTC	near Mount Pleasant, South Carolina	Cat 4 138 mph	934 mb

Closest approach to major cities

City	Distance to center	When (UTC)	Storm strength then
San Juan, Puerto Rico	16 mi	Sep 18 · 15:00 UTC	Cat 3 124 mph
Charlotte, North Carolina	24 mi	Sep 22 · 10:00 UTC	Cat 1 75 mph
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada	55 mi	Sep 23 · 01:00 UTC	TS 41 mph
Brampton, Ontario, Canada	64 mi	Sep 23 · 01:00 UTC	TS 41 mph
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada	42 mi	Sep 23 · 01:00 UTC	TS 41 mph
Toronto, Ontario, Canada	57 mi	Sep 23 · 02:00 UTC	TS 42 mph
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada	12 mi	Sep 23 · 05:00 UTC	TS 45 mph
Montréal, Quebec, Canada	56 mi	Sep 23 · 06:00 UTC	TS 46 mph
Laval, Quebec, Canada	49 mi	Sep 23 · 06:00 UTC	TS 46 mph
Québec, Quebec, Canada	54 mi	Sep 23 · 09:00 UTC	TS 46 mph

Distance from the city to the storm’s center, interpolated hourly between official fixes. Damaging winds, surge and rain reach far beyond the center.

04 · Timeline

Every official fix 64 positions

Date · UTC	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position	Nearest place
Sep 10 12:00	TD	29 mph	1010 mb	13.2°N 20.0°W	open ocean
Sep 10 18:00	TD	29 mph	1010 mb	13.3°N 21.8°W	161 mi SE of Praia, Cabo Verde
Sep 11 00:00	TD	35 mph	1009 mb	13.2°N 23.7°W	120 mi S of Praia, Cabo Verde
Sep 11 06:00	TD	35 mph	1007 mb	13.0°N 25.5°W	147 mi SSW of São Filipe, Cabo Verde
Sep 11 12:00	TD	35 mph	1005 mb	12.8°N 27.3°W	open ocean
Sep 11 18:00	TS	40 mph	1003 mb	12.5°N 29.2°W	open ocean
Sep 12 00:00	TS	46 mph	1002 mb	12.5°N 31.0°W	open ocean
Sep 12 06:00	TS	52 mph	1000 mb	12.5°N 32.9°W	open ocean
Sep 12 12:00	TS	52 mph	998 mb	12.5°N 34.8°W	open ocean
Sep 12 18:00	TS	58 mph	996 mb	12.6°N 36.7°W	open ocean
Sep 13 00:00	TS	63 mph	994 mb	12.6°N 38.2°W	open ocean
Sep 13 06:00	TS	63 mph	992 mb	12.7°N 40.0°W	open ocean
Sep 13 12:00	TS	69 mph	990 mb	12.8°N 41.8°W	open ocean
Sep 13 18:00	Cat 1	75 mph	987 mb	12.8°N 43.5°W	open ocean
Sep 14 00:00	Cat 1	81 mph	984 mb	12.9°N 44.9°W	open ocean
Sep 14 06:00	Cat 1	92 mph	980 mb	13.0°N 46.3°W	open ocean
Sep 14 12:00	Cat 2	98 mph	975 mb	13.2°N 47.8°W	open ocean
Sep 14 18:00	Cat 2	104 mph	970 mb	13.6°N 49.1°W	open ocean
Sep 15 00:00	Cat 3	115 mph	962 mb	13.8°N 50.5°W	open ocean
Sep 15 06:00	Cat 3	127 mph	957 mb	14.0°N 51.9°W	open ocean
Sep 15 12:00	Cat 4	144 mph	940 mb	14.2°N 53.3°W	open ocean
Sep 15 18:00	Cat 5	161 mph	918 mb	14.6°N 54.6°W	open ocean
Sep 16 00:00	Cat 4	155 mph	923 mb	14.8°N 56.1°W	open ocean
Sep 16 06:00	Cat 4	150 mph	927 mb	15.1°N 57.3°W	open ocean
Sep 16 12:00	Cat 4	138 mph	940 mb	15.4°N 58.4°W	178 mi NNE of Bridgetown, Barbados
Sep 16 18:00	Cat 4	138 mph	941 mb	15.8°N 59.4°W	127 mi ENE of Sainte-Marie, Martinique
Sep 17 00:00	Cat 4	138 mph	941 mb	16.1°N 60.4°W	59 mi E of Saint-François, Guadeloupe
Sep 17 05:00	Cat 4 LANDFALL	138 mph	941 mb	16.3°N 61.3°W	near Le Moule, Guadeloupe
Sep 17 06:00	Cat 4	138 mph	943 mb	16.4°N 61.5°W	near Les Abymes, Guadeloupe
Sep 17 12:00	Cat 4	144 mph	949 mb	16.6°N 62.5°W	50 mi SSE of Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis
Sep 17 18:00	Cat 4	144 mph	945 mb	16.9°N 63.5°W	58 mi WSW of Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis
Sep 18 00:00	Cat 4	150 mph	934 mb	17.2°N 64.1°W	56 mi SE of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Sep 18 06:00	Cat 4 LANDFALL	138 mph	940 mb	17.7°N 64.8°W	near Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Sep 18 12:00	Cat 3 LANDFALL	127 mph	945 mb	18.2°N 65.5°W	13 mi SE of Fajardo, Puerto Rico
Sep 18 13:00	Cat 3 LANDFALL	127 mph	946 mb	18.3°N 65.6°W	near Fajardo, Puerto Rico
Sep 18 18:00	Cat 3	121 mph	958 mb	19.1°N 66.4°W	48 mi NNW of San Juan, Puerto Rico
Sep 19 00:00	Cat 3	115 mph	959 mb	19.7°N 66.8°W	85 mi N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
Sep 19 06:00	Cat 2	104 mph	962 mb	20.7°N 67.3°W	153 mi N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
Sep 19 12:00	Cat 2	104 mph	964 mb	21.6°N 68.0°W	open ocean
Sep 19 18:00	Cat 2	104 mph	966 mb	22.6°N 68.6°W	open ocean
Sep 20 00:00	Cat 2	104 mph	957 mb	23.5°N 69.3°W	open ocean
Sep 20 06:00	Cat 2	104 mph	957 mb	24.4°N 70.1°W	open ocean
Sep 20 12:00	Cat 2	109 mph	958 mb	25.2°N 71.0°W	open ocean
Sep 20 18:00	Cat 2	109 mph	953 mb	26.3°N 72.2°W	open ocean
Sep 21 00:00	Cat 3	115 mph	950 mb	27.2°N 73.4°W	open ocean
Sep 21 06:00	Cat 3	115 mph	950 mb	28.0°N 74.9°W	open ocean
Sep 21 12:00	Cat 3	127 mph	948 mb	29.0°N 76.1°W	open ocean
Sep 21 18:00	Cat 4	138 mph	944 mb	30.2°N 77.5°W	open ocean
Sep 22 00:00	Cat 4	138 mph	935 mb	31.7°N 78.8°W	98 mi SE of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Sep 22 04:00	Cat 4 LANDFALL	138 mph	934 mb	32.8°N 79.8°W	near Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Sep 22 06:00	Cat 2	98 mph	952 mb	33.5°N 80.3°W	29 mi S of Sumter, South Carolina
Sep 22 12:00	TS	63 mph	975 mb	35.9°N 81.7°W	near Lenoir, North Carolina
Sep 22 18:00	TS	46 mph	987 mb	38.5°N 81.8°W	near Teays Valley, West Virginia
Sep 23 00:00	TS extratropical	40 mph	988 mb	42.2°N 80.2°W	near Erie, Pennsylvania
Sep 23 06:00	TS extratropical	46 mph	990 mb	46.0°N 74.5°W	11 mi WSW of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec, Canada
Sep 23 12:00	TS extratropical	46 mph	992 mb	49.0°N 69.0°W	36 mi WSW of Hauterive, Quebec, Canada
Sep 23 18:00	TS extratropical	46 mph	993 mb	51.0°N 65.0°W	82 mi NE of Sept-Îles, Quebec, Canada
Sep 24 00:00	TS extratropical	46 mph	994 mb	52.0°N 62.0°W	open ocean
Sep 24 06:00	TS extratropical	46 mph	993 mb	52.5°N 60.5°W	open ocean
Sep 24 12:00	TS extratropical	46 mph	991 mb	53.0°N 59.5°W	open ocean
Sep 24 18:00	TS extratropical	46 mph	989 mb	53.5°N 58.5°W	open ocean
Sep 25 00:00	TS extratropical	46 mph	983 mb	54.0°N 57.0°W	open ocean
Sep 25 06:00	TS extratropical	46 mph	979 mb	56.0°N 52.0°W	open ocean
Sep 25 12:00	TS extratropical	46 mph	974 mb	58.0°N 46.0°W	open ocean

⬇ Download track data (CSV) · public-domain NOAA best track

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did Hugo make landfall?

Hugo made landfall 5 times: near Le Moule, Guadeloupe on September 17, 1989 at 05:00 UTC, as a Category 4 hurricane with 138 mph winds; near Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands on September 18, 1989 at 06:00 UTC, as a Category 4 hurricane with 138 mph winds; near Isabel Segunda, Puerto Rico on September 18, 1989 at 12:00 UTC, as a Category 3 hurricane with 127 mph winds; near Fajardo, Puerto Rico on September 18, 1989 at 13:00 UTC, as a Category 3 hurricane with 127 mph winds; near Mount Pleasant, South Carolina on September 22, 1989 at 04:00 UTC, as a Category 4 hurricane with 138 mph winds.

What category was Hugo?

At its peak on September 15, 1989, Hugo was a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 161 mph (259 km/h) and a central pressure of 918 mb. At its first landfall it was a Category 4 hurricane.

How long did Hugo last?

15.0 days, from September 10, 1989 to September 25, 1989, including 210 hours at hurricane strength (132 as a major hurricane). It travelled about 7,012 miles.

Where can I download the track data for Hugo?

The 6-hourly positions, winds, pressure and wind radii are available as CSV on this page (track.csv) — they come from the NOAA National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database and are in the public domain.

Related storms

Keep exploring

Strongest storms of 1989

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1989	Hurricane Gabrielle Atlantic	Cat 4 144 mph	—	→
1989	Hurricane Raymond Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 144 mph	Baja California Sur, Mexico, Sonora, Mexico	→
1989	Hurricane Octave Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 132 mph	—	→
1989	Hurricane Ismael Eastern Pacific	Cat 3 121 mph	—	→
1989	Hurricane Kiko Eastern Pacific	Cat 3 121 mph	Baja California Sur, Mexico	→
1989	Hurricane Dean Atlantic	Cat 2 104 mph	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	→
1989	Hurricane Erin Atlantic	Cat 2 104 mph	—	→
1989	Hurricane Dalilia Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 92 mph	—	→

See every 1989 storm on one map →

Background reading: Hurricane Hugo on Wikipedia.

← Previous Atlantic stormHurricane Gabrielle (1989)Next Atlantic storm →Hurricane Jerry (1989)

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