In September 1965, Hurricane Betsy hit Florida, the Bahamas, and the central US Gulf Cost. The damage was nearly $1.42 billion, earning the storm the nickname Billion Dollar Betsy. Forecasting for storms like Betsy was still in its infancy.
Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, the current Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) manager, shared that amateur radio operator Gerald E. “Jerry” Murphy, K8YUW, then 28 years old, …