August 27 - Anniversary of Betsy - 1965 - Louisiana

[Mattie]

I pulled this site up earlier and read with interest because this was the first hurricane I remember. I was living near Baton Rouge at the time and remember the eye passed right over us and it was one of the vivid memories I have.

I noted with interest the bottom of this post that Betsy was attempted to be cloud seeded. I would love to know more of the history to this but didn't have time to dig further at the moment. Was this research/seeding stopped, or is it something that happens and not talked about?

Vital statistics as follows:
# Nassau,Bahamas 126mph
# North tip of Andros Island 126mph
# Key Largo,Florida hit with 126mph
# Tavernier,Florida gusts to 120mph
# Plantation key,Florida gusts to 100mph
# Key West,Florida gusts to 81mph
# Miami bch,Florida gusts to 91mph
# At 28.3N x 89.2W 50miles s.e of Louisiana coast 155mph
# Port Sulfur,Louisiana gusts to 136mph
# New Orleans 105mph
# S.Florida 6 ft storm surge
# East Louisiana 8 to 10 ft storm surge
# Lowest Pressure 941mb or 27.76inch
# Born as Cape Verde storm August 27th & died sept 11th over the southeast U.S
# Betsy was attempted to be cloud seeded but the eye was not well enough formed. Scienentist were blamed for erratic movement as they were flying research missions into Betsy

http://www.hurricanecity.com/betsy.htm

[tailgater]

I was only turning 6 but I too rememberer and having my birthday cake at the school we evacuated to. The old ESSO sign off it’s hinges at a store close by.
Probably what got me hooked on these storms, I’ve been tracking and studying them since.

[AnnularCane]

Betsy was a bit before my time, but growing up in NOLA I heard a fair amount of stories about her, mainly from my mom (who lived in Hammond, LA, at the time). The one I remember most is hearing about how her dad for some reason had opened the door in the middle of the storm and it blew off.

[Audrey2Katrina]

Oh I remember Betsy VERY well. As High School freshmen we were indignant that it struck near a weekend and figured we'd get no days off... HAH! We didn't get back into classes until the first week of October. (I went to Chalmette) I also remember Audrey a little but I was quite young for that one. Betsy, however, Oh yes, I have many memories and more than a few pictures.
Below I show perhaps the most iconic picture taken for many news reports. I lived 4 blocks from Flood Street.
.