Hurricane Hugo Rescue Attempt
What Happened
Hurricane Hugo made landfall near Charleston, South Carolina, as a Category 4 storm just after midnight on September 22, 1989, with sustained winds over 135 mph and a storm surge that devastated the nearby coastal community of McClellanville. It remains one of the most destructive hurricanes in South Carolina's history, causing billions of dollars in damage and dozens of deaths across the Caribbean and the Carolinas.
The Five Seconds Connection
This is not a jump the team actually completed—it’s the destination they were aiming for. In Five Seconds Too Long, the device was set to reach Everett during Hurricane Hugo as part of an attempted rescue, but the jump missed its mark entirely, landing the team in Berlin on November 9, 1989, instead. See the Fall of the Berlin Wall entry for what actually happened.
The two dates sit only seven weeks apart in 1989—close enough in time that Everett's read on the malfunction (“we didn’t miss it by seconds, we missed it by continents”) makes grim sense. The rescue mission itself remains unresolved, a loose thread the team has yet to go back and finish.
Related Characters
Further Reading & Sources
National Weather Service: Hurricane Hugo
NWS: Hurricane Hugo Meteorological History