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All storm pages · 1965 Atlantic season

Hurricane Betsy 1965

Category 4 hurricane · Atlantic · August 27 to September 11, 1965

Betsy has landfall records in 5 different places: Saint Barthelemy, Anguilla, the Bahamas, Florida and Louisiana. No other storm of the 1965 Atlantic season matched its 140 mph peak; the season had 10 storms. It generated 47% of the season's accumulated cyclone energy, more than any other 1965 storm. The name Betsy is on the National Hurricane Center's list of retired Atlantic hurricane names.

Track of Betsy (1965) from the best-track record, coloured by strength10°N20°N30°N40°N90°W80°W70°W60°W50°WMemphisBaton RougeSaint Barthelemy, 40 mphAnguilla, 40 mphBahamas, 120 mphFlorida, 115 mphLouisiana, 130 mphPeak 140 mphFirst recordNot tropicalDepressionTropical stormCategory 1Category 2Category 3Category 400 and 12 UTCLandfall

Strength over time

Maximum sustained wind of Betsy (1965) over time, in mphTSCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 504080120160Aug 28Aug 30Sep 1Sep 3Sep 5Sep 7Sep 9Sep 11Sep 13mph
  1. First record (tropical depression) 480 miles northeast of Paramaribo, Suriname
  2. Tropical storm 20 miles north of Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis
  3. Landfall Saint Barthelemy: tropical storm, 40 mph
  4. Landfall Anguilla: tropical storm, 40 mph
  5. Hurricane 280 miles north of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  6. Major hurricane 215 miles north-northeast of Puerto Plata, the Dominican Republic
  7. Peak 210 miles north of Puerto Plata, the Dominican Republic; lowest pressure 942 mb
  8. Landfall Bahamas: Category 3, 120 mph, 952 mb
  9. Landfall Florida: Category 3, 115 mph, 952 mb
  10. Landfall Louisiana
  11. No longer tropical (extratropical low) 50 miles north-northwest of Jackson, Tennessee
  12. Last record 50 miles northwest of Huntington, West Virginia

Against every Atlantic storm since 1851

Peak sustained wind140 mph · tied 110th of 1,98830 mph190 mph
Lowest central pressure942 mb · tied 127th of 1,277882 mb1016 mb
Accumulated cyclone energy40.5 · 36th of 1,7520.173.6
Days as a tropical or subtropical cyclone15.8 days · tied 29th of 1,9880.0 days31.8 days

More from the record

It came ashore in Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane on September 10, 1965, with 130 mph winds.

Its winds climbed 60 mph in the 24 hours to September 2.

In the 1965 season

04080120160Betsy

Storm 3 of 10 in 1965, hurricane 2 of 4; it formed after Anna and before Storm 7 of 1965. See the season.

Places the center passed

The center came within 50 miles of at least 8 towns or cities of 10,000 people or more while the system was tropical. Distances are to the interpolated track line, not the storm's edge.

PlaceClosestWind thenDate
Monroe, Louisiana1 mi50 mphSeptember 10
Houma, Louisiana6 mi110 mphSeptember 10
Roseau, Saint George, Dominica6 mi35 mphAugust 28
Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis10 mi40 mphAugust 29
Baton Rouge, Louisiana14 mi85 mphSeptember 10
Nassau, the Bahamas15 mi120 mphSeptember 7
Memphis, Tennessee18 mi30 mphSeptember 11
Barlett, Tennessee20 mi30 mphSeptember 11

Every storm within 50 miles of Memphis, Tennessee

Similar landfalls in Louisiana

Storms whose strongest landfall record in Louisiana came closest to Betsy's 130 mph:

  • Storm 10 of 1893130 mph, October 2, 1893
  • Katrina (2005)125 mph, August 29, 2005
  • Audrey (1957)125 mph, June 27, 1957
  • Storm 6 of 1915125 mph, September 29, 1915

All 98 storms with a landfall record in Louisiana

Also peaked at 140 mph

Of 35 storms from other Atlantic seasons, the nearest in time: