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ARCHIVES
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1965 HURRICANE BETSY |
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DATES: 27 August - 14 September, 1965
HIGHEST WINDS: 155 mph
LOWEST PRESSURE: 941 mb |
DAMAGE: $1.42 Billion (1965 USD)
$12 Billion (2005 USD)
FATALITIES: 76 (Direct) |
AREAS AFFECTED: Windward Islands, Bahamas, Florida, Louisiana |
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Hurricane Betsy was a powerful hurricane which caused enormous damage in
the Bahamas, Florida and Louisiana in September of 1965. Betsy had a
highly erratic track, forming
east of the Windward Islands, and then moving
north-northwest through the islands as a Tropical Storm. After stalling
and performing a small loop north of Puerto Rico, Betsy resumed a
northwest motion. On September 4th, Betsy was located about 350 miles
east of Daytona Beach, Florida and seemed to be on its way towards
landfall in the Carolinas, when it abruptly stalled, made a large
clockwise loop, turning back toward the southwest and moving slowly
through the Bahamas on September 6th and 7th, as a Category Three. Winds
on Great Abaco reached 147 mph. Betsy moved just north of Nassau,
Bahamas, stalling for several hours and prolonging the effects of the
storm. Late on September 7th, the strong Category Three hurricane turned
toward the west and began to accelerate toward extreme Southern Florida.
Early on September 8th the large 40 mile-wide eye of Betsy passed over
Key Largo in the Upper Florida Keys, and then continued west across
Florida Bay. Hurricane-force winds were experienced in South Florida for
roughly twelve hours. Peak gusts in the Florida Keys were near 140 mph,
with a gust to 105 mph in the Miami area. After crossing Florida and
entering the Gulf of Mexico, Betsy turned to the northwest and continued
to strengthen, reaching Category Four strength with winds up to 155 mph.
On the evening of September 9th, Betsy made a second U.S. landfall at
Grand Isle, Louisiana, just west of the mouth of the Mississippi River
as a strong Category Three, with winds of 125 mph.
Though the eye
passed to the southwest of New Orleans, the eyewall covered much of Southeast Louisiana, for an extended period, causing significant flooding
in New Orleans from the waters of Lake Pontchartrain. Betsy resulted in
76 direct fatalities and caused $1.42 billion (1965 USD) in damage. At
the time it was the costliest hurricane in the history of the United
States, and the first hurricane to result in over a billion dollars in
damage. View a PDF the full 1965 seasonal report from the
Monthly Weather Review.
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Track of Hurricane Betsy in 1965. The storm made landfall in South Florida on September 8th and in Louisina on September 9th. In this TIROS-X satellite image at 10:43am EST on September 3, 1965, Severe Hurricane Betsy is located approximately 425 miles east of Miami, Florida with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph and a minimum central pressure of 955 mb. At this time, the hurricane is moving steadily northwest, east of the Bahamas...over the next six days the hurricane's motion became highly erratic, first stalling and then moving south and finally west, crossing the Northern Bahamas and then extreme Southern Florida before entering the Gulf of Mexico and making a final landfall in Louisiana. The large 40 mile-wide eye of Hurricane Betsy is located 60 miles south-southwest of Miami, Florida over Florida Bay, just west of Key Largo in the upper Florida Keys at 5:00 am EST on September 8, 1965. At the time of this photo, the town of Islamorada was reporting calm winds in the eye. Before and after the passage of Betsy's eye, sustained winds of 120 mph with gusts to 140 mph had ravaged the upper Keys and extreme southern Dade county. Winds at the National Hurricane Center in Coral Gables, south of Miami, had gusted to 105 mph. In this incredibly dramatic photo, the first light of day reveals the full fury of Hurricane Betsy. Winds over 100 mph and an 8 ft storm surge scour the coastline of Southern Dade county on the morning of September 8, 1965. With Hurricane Betsy located 100 miles to the east and moving slowly westward, sustained tropical storm force winds with gusts to hurricane force spread ashore in Key Largo, Florida just before nightfall on September 7, 1965. Twelve hours later, Betsy's eye moved over this area. The eye of Hurricane Betsy at 1250 EST on September 2, 1965 as photographed by a high-altitude Airforce Reconnaissance plane, 11 miles above the earth. Looking south along Miami Beach (with Key Biscayne in the distance) from a Navy reconnaisance plane outbound from Miami to intercept Hurricane Betsy. September 1965. The eye of Hurricane Betsy is clearly defined and plainly visible from a high-altitude Air Force reconnaissance aircraft at 1250 EST on September 2, 1965. At the time of this photo, Betsy is located approximately 630 miles east-southeast of Miami, Florida and about 100 miles north-northeast of Grand Turk island in the Southeastern Bahamas. The storm has maximum sustained winds of 120 mph and a minimum central pressure near 957 mb. The eye of Hurricane Betsy is clearly defined and plainly visible from a high-altitude Air Force reconnaissance aircraft at 1250 EST on September 2, 1965. At the time of this photo, Betsy is located approximately 630 miles east-southeast of Miami, Florida and about 100 miles north-northeast of Grand Turk island in the Southeastern Bahamas. The storm has maximum sustained winds of 120 mph and a minimum central pressure near 957 mb. The eye of Hurricane Betsy is clearly defined and plainly visible from a high-altitude Air Force reconnaissance aircraft at 1250 EST on September 2, 1965. At the time of this photo, Betsy is located approximately 630 miles east-southeast of Miami, Florida and about 100 miles north-northeast of Grand Turk island in the Southeastern Bahamas. The storm has maximum sustained winds of 120 mph and a minimum central pressure near 957 mb. Hurricane force winds howl through Lummus Park on Miami Beach during Hurricane Betsy on the morning of September 8, 1965. The shoreline of Miami is battered by Hurricane Betsy on the morning of September 8, 1965 Violent winds of 120-140 mph caused extensive damage in Southern Dade County, Florida during Hurricane Betsy's passage on September 8, 1965 Hurricane force winds push an 8 ft storm surge over the coastline of Southern Dade county on the morning of September 8, 1965. After twelve hours of hurricane force winds and huge waves, tens of thousands of Cocoanut Palms along the coasts and beaches of Southern Florida are mangled and uprooted by Hurricane Betsy's relentless onslaught. September 8, 1965 Howling winds of 100-120 mph rake Homestead, Florida at daybreak on the morning of September 8, 1965. This car on Miami Beach, Florida was crushed under a felled Cocoanut Palm during Hurricane Betsy's passage on September 8, 1965 Microbarograph trace from Flamingo, Florida during Hurricane Betsy's passage on September 8, 1965. The minimum pressure recorded by the instrument was 28.29 in or 958 mb at 0600 EST. A cargo plane, blown from its moorings at Miami International Airport, comes to rest on a fence adjacent to Perimeter Road during Hurricane Betsy. September 8, 1965 A cargo plane at Miami International Airport ripped from its moorings during Hurricane Betsy was blown on to a fence adjacent to Perimeter Road, near 36th Street. September 8, 1965 Flooding in the New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward following Hurricane Betsy's passage on September 9th, 1965. Tiros weather satellite image of Hurricane Betsy. Tiros weather satellite image of Hurricane Betsy. Surface wind analysis of Hurricane Betsy at landfall in Southern Florida on September 8, 1965.
Track of Hurricane Betsy in 1965. The storm made landfall in South Florida on September 8th and in Louisina on September 9th.
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