On August 27th, reconnaissance aircraft found a tropical depression east of the Leeward Islands. By late in the day the system strengthened into a tropical storm, as it moved west-northwest near 15 mph.On the 28th, the cyclone moved along the length of the Lesser Antilles at nearly 20 mph while continuing to strengthen. By the 29th, Betsy had become a hurricane 200 miles north-northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico as its motion began to slow. For the next couple days, the storm looped 275 miles north of Puerto Rico and the system weakened back into a tropical storm. On the 1st, Betsy turned to the west and regained hurricane strength. As it paralelled the Bahamas, major hurricane Betsy performed another loop on the 4th to the east of northern Florida. A blocking high over the Eastern United States forced the hurricane down to the southwest, towards Florida. On the 7th, the center of Betsy missed Nassau to the north, though its eyewall swept by the island. During the night of the 8th and into the morning of the 9th, Betsy moved through the Upper Keys as a large tropical cyclone. Its track below was supplied by the National Hurricane Center.

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Just about everyone who lives or grew up across Southern Louisiana and Southeast Texas knows the story of Hurricane Audrey, whether it was stories your parents or grandparents passed on, or literature read within the history books.

During the early morning hours of June 27, 1957, an early season hurricane named Audrey roared ashore Southwest Louisiana and Southeastern Texas. Audrey spread a massive storm surge across most of Cameron parish, and across the southern halves of Vermilion, Iberia, and St. Mary parishes, causing total devastation in property and many lives lost. displays the areas inundated with selected high water mark levels. illustrates a post storm SLOSH (Sea, Lake and Overland Surges from Hurricanes) model of Audrey’s passage, with an animation available in 15 minute increments.

Hurricane Audrey ranks as the 7th deadliest hurricane to strike the United States (2nd deadliest within Louisiana) in modern record keeping, with at least 500 deaths. The exact number will never be known, as many perished in the storm surge in Cameron and Vermilion parishes, and many missing persons were never found.

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