MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) – Tonight marks 35 years since Hurricane Hugo devastated much of South Carolina.
HOW IT ALL STARTED:
Hugo originated from a cluster of storms that moved off the African coast on Sept. 9, 1989. By the morning of Sept. 10, the system was classified as a tropical depression. Hugo gradually strengthened as it moved across the warm waters of the Atlantic and became a hurricane on Sept. 14. By the next day, Hugo strengthened into a rare category 5 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds near 160 mph. Hugo was so powerful that a crew from the NOAA Hurricane Hunters nearly crashed into the Atlantic while investigating the hurricane.
Hugo weakened to a category 4 hurricane on Sept. 16 as it aimed at the Leeward Islands of Guadeloupe and Montserrat. Hugo blasted St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands early in the morning of Sept. 18 before slamming through Puerto Rico. The airport in San Juan registered wind gusts up to 92 mph, with 120 mph gusts measured at the former Roosevelt Roads Naval Station…