Hurricane Hugo was a powerful tropical cyclone that inflicted widespread destruction across the northeastern Caribbean and the Southeastern United States in September 1989. The eleventh tropical cyclone, eighth named storm, sixth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season, Hugo arose from a cluster of thunderstorms near Cape Verde on September 10, 1989. This cluster coalesced into a tropical depression and strengthened into Tropical Storm Hugo as it tracked west across the Atlantic Ocean for several days. On September 13, Hugo became a hurricane and continued to intensify through September 15 when its sustained winds peaked at 160 mph (255 km/h), making it a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale. Between September 17 and 21, Hugo made landfall on Guadeloupe, Saint Croix, Puerto Rico, and lastly South Carolina, with major hurricane strength winds. The storm weakened inland and accelerated north over the Eastern United States, transitioning into an extratropical cyclone on September 23 before it was last noted in the far northern Atlantic on September 25. Category 5 hurricane: peak winds of 160 mph (140 knots), lowest pressure 918 mb. September 10 – September 25, 1989. Landfalls: September 17 at 140 mph, 16.3°N 61.3°W; September 18 at 140 mph, 17.7°N 64.8°W; September 18 at 125 mph, 18.2°N 65.5°W; September 18 at 125 mph, 18.3°N 65.6°W; September 22 at 140 mph, 32.8°N 79.8°W. Accumulated cyclone energy: 42.7. Wiki link Track: NOAA National Hurricane Center, HURDAT2 best track AL111989 (public domain).