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Atlantic Hurricane Season, Historical Impacts – Hurricane Betsy

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Hurricane Betsy made landfall on Key Largo with estimated winds of 125 mph (Category 3 hurricane) before entering the Gulf of Mexico in 1965.

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  • Betsy then made a second landfall near Grand Isle, Louisiana with estimated winds of 155 mph (Category 4).
  • Storm surge of eight feet at Big Pine Key, also with severe beach erosion along southwest Florida.
  • Storm surge of about 16 feet near Grand Isle, Louisiana.
  • Estimated economic losses of USD18.7 billion in 2010 dollars, correcting for wealth and inflation. (1)
  • This was a very quiet season under a strong El Niño year, with only four hurricanes in the Atlantic Basin, one of which made U.S. landfall.

Note:

1. Blake, E.S., Landsea, C.W. and Gibney, E.J., 2011: The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Tropical Cyclones From 1851 to 2010. National Weather Service. NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS NHC-6.

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