Exactly 26 years ago tonight, hurricane Hugo blasted through South Carolina near Charleston as a category 4 hurricane. Hugo was a classic Cape Verde storm that caused damage and destruction from the Leeward Islands all the way to the South East United States.
The storm was born over the far eastern Atlantic just off the Cape Verde Islands on September 9, 1989. Hugo at its peak reached category 5 status but weakened slightly as it moved over the islands of of Guadeloupe and St. Croix. It was September 17 when Hugo hit these islands as a category 4 hurricane. The system passed over Puerto Rico as a slightly weaker category 3 storm.
The storm weakened further as it raced across the Atlantic down to a category 2 hurricane. For a time, it appeared that Jacksonville might be the target at first but an upper level low pressure area began to nudge Hugo on a more northerly track taking Florida off the radar.
Hugo made landfall at Isle Of Palms, South Carolina with 140 MPH winds. The storm surge hit Charleston hard wiping out the historic outdoor market that was there for years and years. The system made its way inland causing widespread flooding. The system was still a category 1 hurricane when it passed over Charlotte North Carolina. 
At the time, Hugo was the costliest hurricane to hit the US with a price tag of 7 billion dollars. Twenty Seven people lost their lives in South Carolina because of Hugo.
The strongest winds from Hugo in Florida reached a peak gust of only 21 MPH.
Farther up the coast in New England, areas such as Connecticut had wins up to 50 MPH which caused widespread power outages and toppled trees. Even parts of the Mid Atlantic including Long Island were affected by this monster storm.
The peak wind from Hugo was 160 MPH and the lowest pressure was 918 mbar. Florida was one of the only East Coast states that was not affected.
Tropical Models and Forecast Track:
http://www.joesdiscoweathercentral.com/Model1.html
Atlantic Tropical Outlook and Storm Details:
http://www.joesdiscoweathercentral.com/Tropical_Outlook.html
Tropical Updates Fresh and Up To Date:
http://www.joesdiscoweathercentral.com/Tropical_Web_Forecasts.html
