Hurricane Betsy

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other storms of the same name, see List of storms named Betsy.
Hurricane Betsy
TIROS VIII on September 4, 1965
Meteorological history
FormedAugust 27, 1965
ExtratropicalSeptember 12, 1965
DissipatedSeptember 13, 1965
Category 4 major hurricane
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds140 mph (220 km/h)
Lowest pressure942 mbar (hPa); 27.82 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities81
Damage$1.42 billion (1965 USD)
Areas affected
IBTrACSEdit this at Wikidata
Part of the 1965 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Betsy was an intense, deadly and destructive

extratropical storm
; these remnants lasted until September 13.

As a developing tropical cyclone, Betsy tracked over the northern

Leeward Islands, producing moderate gusts and slight rainfall, though only minimal damage was reported. After tracking over open waters for several days, Betsy had significantly strengthened upon moving through the Bahamas. There, considerable damage occurred, particularly to crops on the archipelago's islands. For the island chain, Betsy was considered the worst hurricane since a tropical cyclone impacted the region in 1929. Widespread power outage and property damage ensued due to the storm's strong winds. Overall, damage on the Bahamas amounted to at least $14 million, and one fatality occurred. From there Betsy tracked westward and made landfall on southern Florida, where it was considered the worst tropical cyclone since a hurricane in 1926. Betsy's strong storm surge inundated large portions of the Florida Keys
, flooding streets and causing widespread damage. The only route out of the Keys onto the mainland was cut off by the storm. In the state alone, Betsy caused $139 million in damage and five deaths.

Betsy's most severe impacts were felt in Louisiana, where it made landfall as a powerful Category 4 hurricane. The cyclone propelled damaging

rotating lists of tropical cyclone names
.

Meteorological history

Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
Map key
Saffir–Simpson scale
  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
  Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
  Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
  Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
  Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
  Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
  Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
  Unknown
Storm type
triangle Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression

Origins of Hurricane can be traced back to an

tropical storm intensity three hours after their first tropical cyclone bulletin that same day,[nb 2][2][3] post-analysis indicated that the tropical depression had remained at the same intensity up until 1200 UTC on August 29.[4] Nonetheless, the tropical cyclone was given the name Betsy for a period of time as a tropical depression,[2] contrary to typical tropical cyclone naming procedure.[6] As Betsy approached the Windward Islands, it began to move in a more northwesterly direction,[3][7] and was briefly located in the Caribbean Sea during the overnight hours of August 28 before re-emerging into the Atlantic Ocean the following day,[4][7][8] after which Betsy was upgraded to tropical storm classification in post-analysis.[4]

Grayscale image of a tropical cyclone as viewed from space. Due to the position of the camera, the tropical cyclone is at center-right, with banding features visible. As a result of the camera angle, the limb of the Earth is clearly visible; outer space appears a uniform dark gray.
Betsy antecedent to being upgraded to hurricane intensity on August 29.

Upon moving to the northwest of the

Turks and Caicos.[2][4][15]

However, on September 5, a

Upper Keys and Florida Bay before emerging midday on September 8 into the Gulf of Mexico.[1][22]

Situated in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico on September 8,

United States Gulf Coast. At 0000 UTC the next day, Betsy reached its primary peak intensity with winds of 140 mph (220 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 942 mbar (hPa; 27.79 inHg) shortly before moving ashore a rural area of Louisiana coastline adjacent to Houma and Grand Isle early on September 10.[21][24][4] Once inland, Betsy quickly weakened,[21] and paralleled the Mississippi River before degenerating into a tropical depression by 0600 UTC the following day. Afterwards, it began to track northeastward along the Ohio River before it transitioned into an extratropical cyclone on September 12.[4] The remnant extratropical circulation of Betsy persisted into southern Ohio before dissipating entirely by 0000 UTC on September 13.[25]

Preparations

The Bahamas, Cuba, and Florida

Contoured map of a tropical cyclone in a body of water. Contours denote isobars, and the location of the storm is marked with a tropical cyclone symbol.
Surface weather analysis map of Betsy on September 8

At

relief agency also readied seven first aid and food vans in the cities of New Bern and Wilmington in North Carolina and Charleston, South Carolina.[34] The United States Department of Agriculture prepared food supplies in the event of an emergency for the two states.[33]

After Betsy stalled and assumed a southwesterly course towards southern Florida, precautionary measures ceased in the Carolinas but were initiated in Florida and The Bahamas.

Biscayne Boulevard; such procedure was influenced by the damage wrought by Hurricane Cleo a year prior
.

On September 7, the United States Weather Bureau predicted that Betsy would make landfall in Matanzas Province in Cuba.[42] The National Observatory of Cuba expressed concern for the island's northern coast from the provinces of Havana to Camagüey, and in particular the provinces of Matanzas and Las Villas.[43][nb 5] Cuban radio alerted residents along the country's northern coast, potentially threatened by the hurricane, to take the necessary precautions in the event of an emergency.[46] Radio services in Havana alerted residents along the shores of Pinar del Río Province of potentially dangerous storm surge, and urged immediate precautionary measures.[43]

United States Gulf Coast

Watches and warnings

See also: Tropical cyclone warnings and watches

Upon the operational

Sandy Hook, New Jersey to remain in port, and other small craft north of Miami, Florida and into Bahamian waters to exercise caution.[47] As a result of Betsy executing a loop and beginning to tracking southwestward, these watches were never issued, however, the Weather Bureau advised extreme caution in several Bahamian islands, though once again no warnings were specified.[17] However, general emergency hurricane warning was issued early on September 16 for islands in the northern Bahamas, as well as adjacent waters.[48][49] Hurricane watches and gale warnings were also issued for surrounding islands at the same time.[49] These warnings and watch products for the Bahamas held until late on September 7.[19]

Early on September 6, as Betsy was tracking through the Bahamas,[2] a hurricane watch and gale warning were issued for portions of the Southeastern Floridian coast from Cape Kennedy to Key West. Late that day, however, areas of the watch zone from Palm Beach to Key West and Everglades City were upgraded to hurricane emergency warning status. Additional hurricane watches were hoisted for areas of Florida's western coast from Everglades City to Punta Gorda.[49] The following evening, the hurricane emergency warning zone was expanded to include areas of the east coast northward to Fort Pierce and on the west coast northward to Venice. Gale warnings were also expanded to include coastal areas from Jacksonville to St. Marks. Hurricane watches were similarly extended to include coastal regions of Florida from the boundaries of the hurricane warnings to Daytona Beach and Cedar Keys on the peninsula's eastern and western coasts, respectively.[19] Once Betsy began moving through the peninsula, however, warning and watch products began to be discontinued by regions, with all products pertaining to Florida discontinued by midday on September 8.[22][50] After leaving the Florida area, the first hurricane watch pertaining to the Central Gulf Coast of the United States occurred late on September 8, when the Weather Bureau office in New Orleans issued a hurricane watch for coastal areas from Matagorda Bay to the Mississippi River Delta.[23] Early the following day, hurricane emergency warnings were issued for areas stretching from Galveston, Texas to the Mississippi River Delta and gale warnings elsewhere from Mobile Bay to Matagorda Bay.[51] Upon completing its northwestward recurvature, hurricane emergency warnings were shifted eastward to include areas from the mouth of the Mississippi River Delta to Mobile, Alabama. Gale warnings were effected by this change, and as such were also extended to include areas west of Panama City, Florida.[52] On September 9, hurricane warnings were once again extended eastward to Pensacola, Florida, while they were lowered for the Texas coast.[53] These warnings remained in effect until September 10, by which time Betsy had weakened sufficiently enough not to warrant such warnings and watches.[54]

Impact

Filled contoured map showing areas of North America; each contour represents a change of 3 in (75 mm) in precipitation totals.
Rainfall totals in the United States

The effects of Hurricane Betsy were of far-reaching and unprecedented severity.[2][21] Though the extent of impacts were limited to the Bahamas and portions of the United States, the damage in these respective regions were considerable.[1] According to the Hurricane Research Division of the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Betsy produced Category 3 winds (111 mph (179 km/h) or greater) in Southeastern Florida and Southeastern Louisiana.[55] However, winds of such intensity were also reported in the Bahamas.[1] The final, enumerated damage figure of $1.42 billion in damage costs made Betsy the first tropical cyclone in the United States to accrue more than $1 billion in damage, unadjusted for inflation.[56] For this reason, the tropical cyclone was nicknamed "Billion Dollar Betsy."[57][58]

The Bahamas

During Betsy's initial approach of the Bahamian archipelago on September 2, strong surf and high swells were reported in the Southeastern islands, though no damage was reported.[59][60] Much of the damage inflicted to the Bahamas by Betsy occurred between September 6–8, when the tropical cyclone moved across the northern Bahamas as a Category 3 hurricane.[1][4] The preceding track was similar to that of another major hurricane in 1929, which had also drastically curved southwestward before causing significant damage to the island group.[35] Likewise, Betsy was considered the worst hurricane to strike the region since then.[61] Stalling over the Bahamas for a period of time as it moved through the islands, several locations sustained the Betsy's effects for prolonged periods of time, despite the tropical cyclone's relatively small size.[1][2] Widespread power outage and communication blackouts ensued, preventing the flow of reports between the northern Bahamas and other outlets as the storm took place.[62] This included NASA communication centers in Cape Kennedy, which had lost contact with downrange missile tracking stations in the archipelago.[63] Over the duration of the hurricane, the lowest pressure measured was 961 mbar (hPa; 28.40 inHg) in Dunmore Town on Harbour Island. However, no wind measurement was recorded alongside the pressure reading due to a resulting power failure.[1]

Offshore, the Dutch freighter Sarah Elizabeth was caught in rough seas and had lost control of its rudder while it was pulled by continuous wave action towards

cutter and several merchant ships to assist in escorting the stricken freighter to safety. However, roughly five hours later the crew of the Sarah Elizabeth was able to navigate to safer waters within the Providence Channel.[63] Two luxury yachts within the harbor were destroyed, with dozens of smaller craft damaged, as a result of the wind and waves.[61]

Map showing the erratic track of a tropical cyclone as denoted by a thick black line. A gray, shaded region around the line indicates the width of the eye.
Track of Betsy through the Bahamas

Passing to the north of

power lines,[38] trees,[42] and destroyed homes, while the heavy rainfall, having accumulated over several days, flooding city streets.[38] Other streets were littered with coconuts, palm fronds, and other debris blown or felled by the strong winds.[61] Heavy loss of shrubbery was also reported due to the storm's effects.[46] A strong storm surge estimated at 10 ft (3.0 m) swept into the Bay Street waterfront shopping district, inundating the renowned shopping area.[42][63] The local police detachment, which had been holed up within a waterfront barracks, was forced to take refuge in a nearby high school due to the storm surge.[43] Along the coast, 500 American tourists remained stranded in waterfront hotels.[61][64] Despite the severe effects, only one person died in the Nassau area after his ship was destroyed and capsized in Nassau Harbor; this would be the only fatality associated with Betsy in the Bahamas.[1]

On

Abaco Island, where areas were within Betsy's swath of hurricane-force winds for over 20 hours.[2][66] In Green Turtle Cay, a station clocked winds of 151 mph (243 km/h), well into Category 4 intensity on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale. Another station in Hope Town measured a peak wind gust of 178 mph (286 km/h).[1][67] The entirety of Hope Town was covered with sand to a depth of 2 ft (0.61 m), and the local harbor club was extensively damaged. Other docks were either damaged or completely destroyed. Though there was relatively little rainfall,[68] coastal flooding damaged many houses to a point beyond repair. In Marsh Harbour, a majority of homes were unroofed. Heavy crop and fruit tree losses were reported in Little and Northern Abaco, with damage enumerated at well over a million dollars.[69]
In the southern Berry Islands, which experienced hurricane-force winds for over 25 hours and the eye for 3 hours, all the islands suffered damage of some degree. Frazers Hog Cay had several houses badly damaged, one totally destroyed and the entire power distribution destroyed. Only Bird Cay, which had underground utilities, was able to restore electricity and water the next day. The harbor at Chub Cay was severely damaged. and would take months to repair.

Across the northern portion of Eleuthera Island, Betsy wrought considerable damage.[70] Communications from the island's missile tracking center were lost, with the last transmitted message indicating winds of 130 mph (210 km/h) which subsequently destroyed an anemometer. A submarine communications cable connecting the missile tracking center to Cape Kennedy was cut by the strong wave action.[71] In Tarpum Baya police station sustained heavy damage after being hit by storm surge. Other coastal installments and property were severely damaged by the waves. The Glass Window Bridge was also damaged by the storm surge. Elsewhere, vehicles were damaged by fallen debris kicked up by the strong winds associated with Betsy.[69] Overall, Hurricane Betsy caused an estimated $14 million in damage across the Bahamas, primarily to crops. Insurance claims were estimated at $4 million. The low death toll from the hurricane was accredited by the United States Weather Bureau to the relatively low storm tide, which,[1] although rough,[63] was negligible in areas including in Nassau, and the heeding of posted hurricane warnings by the affected populations.[1]

Florida

Black and white radar image of a tropical cyclone; gray areas denote areas where rainfall is occurring. Although only a portion of the tropical cyclone is visible, rainbands and a central eye feature can be clearly made out.
WSR-57 radar image of Betsy near Miami on September 8

Beginning on September 7, intermittent squalls associated with Betsy's outer rainbands began affecting the coast, producing gusts in excess of 60 mph (97 km/h).[63] One of these squalls toppled trees and damaged awnings in Stuart.[72] Early the following day, Betsy made landfall on the southeastern Florida coast near Key Largo with a strength equivalent to that of a Category 3 hurricane.[4][21] Intense winds were felt across the region, with the highest officially wind speed clocked at 125 mph (201 km/h) in Big Pine Key; the same station also recorded the strongest gust documented while Betsy was over southern Florida at 165 mph (266 km/h). The lowest barometric pressure recorded was 952 mbar (hPa; 28.12 inHg) at a station in Tavernier while it was within the eye of the storm.[1][73]

The strong winds knocked down utility poles, causing widespread power outage and a telecommunications blackout.

Dade and Broward counties' avocado crop,[1] valued at $2 million, was destroyed.[76]

Much of the damage inflicted in the state was caused by an unusually strong storm surge, which inundated the coastal and low-lying areas of Florida.

beach erosion, mostly to areas south of Clearwater on the state's western coast while Betsy was traversing the Gulf of Mexico. In Fort Pierce, the waves washed away up to 10 ft (3.0 m) of beach.[72]

Slightly elevated photo taken in the middle of a flooded street. Palm trees, utility poles, and residences are visible on both the left and right sides of the street.
Street flooding in Key West

Coastal flooding in the Upper Keys was severe, with areas being inundated under several feet of seawater. Along the Miami Beach waterfront, a storm tide measuring 6.1 ft (1.9 m) caused extensive damage to shoreline property along Biscayne Bay.[73] Eight people on the beach were injured, primarily due to flying glass shards.[79] Roads were inundated, with water exceeding the first floor heights of some buildings.[73] As a result of the waves and wind, three barges were torn out of their moorings, and later drifted downwind before severing a portion of the Rickenbacker Causeway,[76] rendering it impassable and isolating Key Biscayne from the mainland.[77][80] Along the waterfront, the waves blew into hotels and shoreline residences.[74]

Offshore, the strong waves caused a freighter to run aground near Palm Beach, and nine people became stranded in houseboats near a mangrove island in Biscayne Bay.[81] Another cargo ship, the Panamanian, ran aground within Lake Worth Inlet.[80] At Key Largo, a 50 ft (15 m) sailboat was blown out of the water onto an adjacent neighborhood. Elsewhere in Key Largo, homes were unroofed by the strong winds, with other buildings damaged by flying debris.[81] Water forced into the Miami River caused it to overflow its banks and spread inland for several city blocks in Miami. In the Miami area, Betsy caused the most severe seawater inundation since a major hurricane struck in 1926;[74] this record was attributed to the highest storm surge reported in as many years.[80] A 5 mi (8.0 km) section of State Road A1A,[82] which runs adjacent to Miami and the nearby beach, was blocked by sand dunes piled inland by the strong winds.[76] The high tide also washed out a some portions of the road between Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach.[41]

Precipitation was localized, albeit heavy, in South Florida. Rainfall peaked at 11.80 in (300 mm) in

Florida Panhandle the following day and later destroyed a marina with twelve boats.[21][73] The relatively low number of tornadoes that formed as a result of Betsy was due to the anomalously rapid forward motion that Betsy traveled at during its traverse of the Florida peninsula and the Gulf of Mexico. Overall, five people were killed in the state,[73] and damage totaled $139 million, primarily due to the strong storm surge generated by Betsy.[1]

Gulf of Mexico

Aerial view of flooding in New Orleans
Flooding in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans after Betsy

Eight offshore oil platforms were destroyed during Betsy, with others experiencing damage. A

Shell oil platform off the Mouth of the Mississippi River was not seen again. The oil rig Maverick, owned by future president George H. W. Bush's Zapata corporation also disappeared during the cyclone. It was insured by Lloyd's of London for US$5.7 million (1965 dollars).[85]

Louisiana

Most severe landfalling Atlantic hurricanes in the United States
Based on size and intensity for total points on the Hurricane Severity Index[86]
Rank Hurricane Year Intensity Size Total
1  4  Carla 1961 17 25 42
2  4  Betsy 1965 15 25 40
3  5  Camille 1969 22 14 36
 4  Opal 1995 11 25 36
 5  Katrina 2005 13 23 36
6  3  Audrey 1957 17 16 33
 5  Wilma 2005 12 21 33
8  5  Ivan 2004 12 20 32
9  4  Ike 2008 10 20 30
10  5  Andrew 1992 16 11 27

Hurricane Betsy slammed into New Orleans on the evening of September 9, 1965. 110 mph (180 km/h) winds and power failures were reported in New Orleans.[87] The eye of the storm passed to the southwest of New Orleans on a northwesterly track. The northern and western eyewalls covered Southeast Louisiana and the New Orleans area from about 8 pm until 4 am the next morning. In Thibodaux winds of 130 mph (210 km/h) to 140 mph (230 km/h) were reported.[88] The Baton Rouge weather bureau operated under auxiliary power, without telephone communication.[89] Around 1 am, the worst of the wind and rain was over.

Betsy also drove a storm surge into Lake Pontchartrain, just north of New Orleans, and the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, a deep-water shipping channel to the east and south. Levees for the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet along Florida Avenue in the Lower Ninth Ward and on both sides of the Industrial Canal failed. The flood water reached the eaves of houses in some places and over some one story roofs in the Lower Ninth Ward. Some residents drowned in their attics trying to escape the rising waters.

These levee breaches flooded parts of

Vic Schiro
federal aid.

It was ten days or more before the water level in New Orleans went down enough for people to return to their homes. It took even longer than that to restore their flooded houses to a livable condition. Those who did not have family or friends with dry homes had to sleep in the shelters at night and forage for supplies during the day, while waiting for the federal government to provide emergency relief in the form of trailers. In all, 164,000 homes were flooded at the second landfall.

Evidence suggests that cheap construction and poor maintenance of the structures led to the failure of the levees. However, popular rumor persists that they were intentionally breached,[90] possibly as a means of salvaging the French Quarter and central business district.

Many of the barges that had been traveling on the Mississippi River were engulfed by the hurricane. One of the barges, MTC-602, contained 600 tons of deadly chlorine gas contained in cylinders. Chlorine gas, which was used frequently as a chemical weapon in World War I, is a powerful irritant that can inflict damage to the eyes, nose, throat and lungs, and (at high concentrations and prolonged exposure) cause death by asphyxiation. It was estimated that the amount of chlorine loaded on the barge was enough to kill 40,000 people. The barge had sunk near Baton Rouge, where an estimated 300,000 people lived. The residents in the harbor area were evacuated until the barge was recovered. President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered the Navy and Army Engineers to find and raise the barge. While it took months to locate and make the appropriate plans for raising the barge, the actual process of raising it took around two hours. The barge was reportedly recovered, without any problems, on November 12, 1965.[91][92]

Mississippi

The storm produced rainfall, high tides, and strong winds in Mississippi. Near the border with Alabama, tides of 7 feet (2.1 m) were reported, while ranging as high as 15 feet (4.6 m) near the state line with Louisiana. Wind speeds also varied greatly throughout the state. In Pascagoula, winds between 40 and 65 mph (64 and 105 km/h) were recorded. By contrast, winds were in excess of 100 mph (160 km/h) in Bay St. Louis. Despite the winds, much of the property damage in the state was caused by tides along the Gulf Coast. Strong winds and heavy rainfall caused significant crop damage in Harrison, Hancock County, Mississippi, and Jackson County, Mississippi. Throughout the state, 25,000 people lost electricity and more than 22,641 disruptions to telephone service occurred.[93] Overall, damage in the state of Mississippi totaled to $80 million (1965 USD).[94]

Alabama

Though Betsy remained well south and west of Alabama throughout its existence,[4][25] its outer rainbands and strong storm surge caused damage in some areas of the state, particularly in the southern portions of the state.[21] At the coast, the storm tide caused by Betsy were the highest since 1916.[95] High tides peaking at 4.7 ft (56 in) in Mobile destroyed and damage some private piers and waterfront buildings.[73] The Mobile Bay Causeway and adjacent infrastructure was flooded by the storm surge; as a result the causeway was closed between September 9–10.[95] Strong winds were also reported in southern Alabama. Gusts of 80 mph (130 km/h) were reported on Dauphin Island just off the Alabama coast; these would be the strongest winds or gusts reported statewide. Similarly, gusts of 75 mph (121 km/h) were estimated at Alabama Port. In the former, minor damage was reported to residences and other buildings, and numerous homes sustained minor roof and carport damage.[96] Mobile County reported similar damage. Extensive damage to utility lines in those same regions also occurred. The strong winds also resulted in the tearing of 20–25 percent of the state pecan crop from their trees.[73][96] Damage to other crops was negligible.[96]

Although rainfall occurred throughout Alabama, precipitation was more numerous in the northern part of the state after Betsy passed the region to the north as a weakening tropical cyclone.[25] Rainfall peaked at 3.39 in (86 mm) in Guntersville.[97] Betsy's outer rainbands also produced two tornadoes in the state. The first occurred in a remote area near Theodore and as such did not cause any damage. However, the second tornado, which touched down near Cullman late on September 11, destroyed several acres of corn and uprooted over 300 fruit trees.[95] The tornado, described as one of "narrow" length, also slightly damaged some buildings and uprooted a number of other trees. Though no exact damage total could be calculated, the tornado caused anywhere between $5,500–$55,000 in damage.[73] Statewide, Hurricane Betsy caused $500,000 in damage.[1]

Elsewhere

Black and white contoured map of precipitation in a state. Cities and county borders are marked.
Rainfall totals in Arkansas

In its early formative stages, Betsy forced the shortening of NASA's

splashdown zone near Grand Turk Island.[98][99] As a result, the spacecraft, which had been orbiting the Earth since August 1965, had its target splashdown zone shifted northward to an area of the Atlantic Ocean well east of Jacksonville, Florida, away from the storm's projected path.[98] In Martinique, the precursor tropical depression caused marginal rainfall and light gusts, and no damage was reported.[99] In Sint Maarten, winds and their associated gusts peaked at 35 mph (56 km/h) for several hours on August 28.[100] Throughout the rest of the Windward Islands, gusts peaked at 40 mph (65 km/h),[1] though the resultant wind damage was marginal.[101] As the hurricane was passing near the southeastern Bahamas, high swells were reported along the northern coast of Hispaniola, though no damage ensued.[60]

Although the more significant effects of Hurricane Betsy in the United States were limited to coastal regions, areas further inland received rainfall and strong winds from the weakening tropical cyclone and its remnants, with precipitation extending inland as far northeast as

White Rivers in the eastern part of the state to rise from 3 ft (0.91 m) to 7 ft (2.1 m); however, they did not exceed flood stage.[105] Betsy's remnants were estimated to have brought winds of 50–70 mph (80–113 km/h) throughout the state.[104] Most of the stronger winds were in the northern quadrant of the weakening tropical cyclone as it progressed through Arkansas. However, the highest measured wind gusts were only clocked at 45 mph (72 km/h) in stations at Pine Bluff and Walnut.[103] The strong winds tore down power lines, leaving hundreds of electricity customers without power for several days. However, regional electrical crews were able to restore most power by the night of September 11.[105] Four people were killed by the weakening hurricane statewide.[105]

In Illinois, the remnants of Hurricane Betsy brought heavy rainfall to the extreme southern portions of the state over a period of three days, ranging anywhere from 3–6 in (76–152 mm);[73] the highest recorded total was 6.25 in (159 mm) in Cairo, Illinois. The same station recorded 6.25 in (159 mm) of rain in a 24-hour period.[106] The resulting damage, if any, was minimal,[73] though minor damage occurred to cotton and soy crops in the Cairo area.[107] Hail and strong winds in Kentucky's Bluegrass region damaged tobacco fields and caused damage to 35 mobile homes and a number of other roofs.[73] Though no deaths were directly associated with Betsy's effects, a car lost control during a rainstorm in Gallatin County and subsequently crashed; the two occupants later went missing and were presumed dead.[108] Strong wind in Montgomery County downed trees. In western Tennessee, moderate to heavy rains in conjunction with gusts as strong as 40 mph (65 km/h) were reported.[73] Precipitation peaked in the state at 6.01 in (153 mm) in Ripley.[109] Though much of the rainfall was beneficial to the region's agricultural sector, localized flooding was also reported.[73] Winds estimated between 25–35 mph (40–56 km/h) blew down some cotton and corn crops.[110] Other opened cotton bolls were damaged, while soybeans were blown down, making mechanical harvesting difficult.[111]

Further north and east, the rains Betsy produced were mostly beneficial as the storm had substantially weakened by the time it had approached these regions.

South Atlantic States on September 7.[112] In West Virginia, the rains helped to saturate soils used for growing crops, benefiting crop production.[113] From September 11–13, Betsy's rains were felt throughout Pennsylvania. Rainfall peaked at 1.5 in (38 mm) in the central and northeastern regions of the state.[114] Further south, in Maryland and Delaware, the rains were also beneficial to arable land. Precipitation in the former peaked at 2.55 in (65 mm) in Bittinger, while precipitation in the latter peaked at 1.83 in (46 mm).[115]

Aftermath

See also:
Hurricane preparedness for New Orleans

The

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Hurricane Protection Program came into existence as a result of Betsy. The Corps built new levees for New Orleans that were both taller and made of stronger material, designed specifically to resist a fast-moving Category 3 hurricane like Betsy (Betsy was retroactively upgraded to a Category 4 at the time of its Louisiana landfall in 2019). The resulting levee improvements failed when Hurricane Katrina, a large, slow-moving, intense hurricane made landfall near New Orleans
on August 29, 2005.

Saturn V test hardware

Retirement

See also: List of retired Atlantic hurricane names

Due to the storm's extent and severity of impacts, the name Betsy was retired following the season by the National Hurricane Center, and it will not be used again to name a tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin.[116] Consequently, the name was replaced with Blanche for the 1969 season.[117]

Hurricane Betsy in popular culture

  • In April 1969,[118] Texan blues artist Sam John "Lightnin'" Hopkins wrote the song Hurricane Betsy as the fourth track of the album The Texas Bluesman.[118][119]
  • The song Georgia... Bush was recorded by artists DJ Drama and Lil Wayne and released along with the mixtape Dedication 2 on September 4, 2006.[120] Produced by Vudu Spellz, the song described a first-person account of Hurricane Katrina and emasculated U.S. president George W. Bush, while also indicting institutional racism.[121] Part of the song's lyrics – "Same shit happened back in Hurricane Betsy/ 1965" – makes direct reference to Hurricane Betsy, implying that the government intentionally destroyed levees such that the Lower Ninth Ward would be flooding and thus protecting more expensive lakefront property.[122]
  • Written by Rachelle Burk and illustrated by Rex Schneider, the children's novel Tree House in a Storm is a fictional telling of two child siblings whose tree house, having long served as a safe haven, is destroyed by Hurricane Betsy.[123]

See also

  • List of Florida hurricanes (1950–1974)
  • List of Category 4 Atlantic hurricanes
  • Hurricane Elena (1985) – Storm of erratic nature struck a wide swath of the United States Gulf Coast as a Category 3 hurricane during the Labor Day week causing major damage
  • Hurricane Andrew (1992) – Small tropical cyclone devastated southern Florida as a Category 5 before impacting areas of southeastern Louisiana as a Category 3
  • Hurricane Jeanne (2004) – Struck the Bahamas and Florida as a Category 3 hurricane
  • Hurricane Katrina (2005) – Category 5 hurricane that struck South Florida as a Category 1 before causing unprecedented destruction in the New Orleans area as a Category 3 hurricane, becoming the costliest hurricane on record
  • Hurricane Dorian (2019) – Stalled over The Bahamas as a Category 5 hurricane causing catastrophic damage

Notes

  1. ^ All monetary figures are in 1965 United States dollars unless otherwise noted.
  2. ^ Until the inception of the present-day National Hurricane Center in 1966, the United States Weather Bureau and later Miami Hurricane Warning Office handled tropical cyclone operations in the northern Atlantic basin.[5]
  3. WC-130 Hercules in the Hurricane Hunter role, with a "fix" mission into the eye of the storm on 27 August.[9]
  4. Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale.[14]
  5. ^ The former Cuban province of Las Villas, initially known as Santa Clara until 1940,[44] was split into the present-day provinces of Villa Clara, Cienfuegos, and Sancti Spíritus in 1978.[45]

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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hurricane Betsy.
Preceded by Costliest Atlantic hurricanes on Record
1965 		Succeeded by
Camille (Tied with Betsy)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hurricane_Betsy&oldid=1217148221"