Hurricane Hugo
September 10-22, 1989
Hurricane Hugo struck Charleston, South Carolina on September 21 as a category
4 storm. Hugo ranked as the eleventh most intense hurricane at
time of landfall to strike U.S. this century and is rated as the
second costliest hurricane with over $7 billion in damages. Hugo's
storm surge was the highest ever recorded on the East Coast. It
was estimated at 20 feet just north of Charleston. Hugo's 150
mile wide swath destroyed about one billion board feet of timber
and resulted in major damage hundreds of miles inland. The total
number of deaths associated with Hurricane Hugo is 82.
Ocean Turbidity
Large dramatic increases in turbidity are apparent in the after
image as compared to pre-Hugo structure in the before image.
Both changes in regions to the left and the right of the hurricane
track are seen following the passing of Hugo. The northern extent
of change is larger than to the south as depicted by the turbidity
increases in Long Bay, South Carolina and more moderate changes in Onslow
Bay and Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. This is expected due to higher winds
on the right side of the hurricane track.
| Before | After | Difference (after minus before) |
Sea Surface Temperature
The difference image depicts an overall cooling on the
order of 1-2 °C over an extremely large area primarily due
to surface cooling. In the southern portion of the after image
the continuity of the Gulf Stream appears to be broken in some
areas suggesting that Hugo may have temporally "disrupted"
or altered the surface flow in these regions.
| Before | After | Difference (after minus before) |
For scientists more time series Satellite Images in GEOTIFF Format
are available
