35 years later, Hurricane Hugo remains last major storm to make landfall along South Carolina’s coast

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – September 21, 1989… Powerful category four Hurricane Hugo began lashing the South Carolina coast.

The storm made landfall just north of Charleston around midnight the following morning. With 140 mph sustained winds, the storm produced significant wind and storm surge damage along the coast and caused roughly $7 billion in damage between the United States and Puerto Rico.

Adjusted for inflation, that number today is more than $17 billion.

Hugo formed near the Cape Verde Islands on September 9, 1989. Strengthening over time, the storm would be upgraded to a strong Category 5 hurricane as it trekked across the Atlantic but wavered in intensity as it moved near Guadeloupe, St. Croix, and Puerto Rico.

It was downgraded to a Category 4 before striking the Charleston area. It has been the last major hurricane to make landfall in the state.

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Nearly 80,000 homes were damaged or destroyed because of the hurricane, and the estimated loss of timber surpassed $1 billion.

Since 1851, 25 hurricanes have made landfall in South Carolina, and only two other Category 4 hurricanes hit the state. Hurricane Hazel struck near the North Carolina/South Carolina line in August 1954, and Hurricane Gracie hit St. Helena Sound in September 1959.

While many other tropical systems impacted the state over the years, only five hurricanes have made landfall in South Carolina since Hugo including Charley (2004), Gaston (2004), Matthew (2016), and Ian (2022).

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