NASH ROBERTS HURRICANE PAPERS 35 Linear Feet Special Collections & Archives Loyola University Library Collection 26 NASH ROBERTS HURRICANE PAPERS ( Mention Nash Roberts, and generations of New Orleanians, who have never met him in person, will remember a treasured friend. F or more than 40 years, anxious residents of the "city in a bowl" listened and watched attentively as this meteorologist-turned­ reluctant TV celebrity calmly and thoughtfully explained and predicted the paths of hurricanes. He gathered all the technical information available and distilled it for presentation to the TV audience with the simplest of tools-a magic marker and erasable board. And when his forecast was complete, the public was reassured and better prepared. Nash Roberts was born in New Orleans in 1918 and developed an interest in aeronautics and meteorology as a child. He was graduated from Fortier High School and while a Loyola University student, took courses through the Civil Aeronautics Administration. Following certification by the federal agency, he and his brother opened the Roberts School of Aeronautics and the student became an instructor at age 23 at both Loyola and Tulane. During World War II, Navy pilot Roberts joined the staff of Admiral Chester Nimitz and was the first to fly through a typhoon, forecasting its landfall on the island of Japan and enabling the Navy to schedule air strikes accordingly. When the war ended, he returned to New Orleans and began a private meteorological service, Nash C. Roberts, Jr., Consultants, Inc., providing weather forecasting services and advice to oil companies, maritime operations, fishermen and others doing business in and around the Gulf of Mexico. In 1949 he made his fust foray into television at fledgling station WDSU, commenting on an unnamed hurricane. In 1951 he was finally persuaded to join the newsroom staff, and professional TV weathercasting in New Orleans was born. His association with WDSU continued for 22 years. From 1974-1978 he appeared on WVUE and joined the WWL staff in 1978. He officially retired in 1984 but was "on call" as a WWL hurricane consultant until Hurricane Georges made its appearance in 1998. As thousands evacuated, Nash made the correct call one last time. The man with the marker was the first TV weatherman to forecast the storm's turn away from the city. In 2001 he retired completely to care for his wife of more than 60 years, Lydia. Soon after retirement, he donated his extensive collection of hurricane files to Special Collections and Archives at Monroe Library, perpetuating his long association with Loyola University. A former student and instructor, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science from the university in 1984 and was a founding member of the Loyola Library Visiting Committee. 2 ( SERIES DESCRIPTION Series I: Reconnaissance Data and Weather Reports (Boxes 1-48) Weather bureau and reconnaissance reports, small tracking maps and bulletins prepared by Nash Roberts Consulting, Inc., for clients doing business in the Gulf of Mexico. The folders and the material in each box are arranged in chronological order. Of particular interest are the extensive collections of material about Hurricanes Betsy (1965) and Camille (1969) which include first-hand accounts of personal experiences. Series II: Maps, Books and Film (Boxes 49-57) The boxes in Series II, also in chronological order, contain maps, ranging from hand­ plotted tracking charts to satellite images. Two copies of Roberts' book "The Story of Extreme Hurricane Camille," 35-millimeter radar films and 16-millimeter KTS satellite time lapse film (all pertaining to Camille) are to be found in the largest box. Series III: Oversize Maps of Hurricanes Betsy and Camille (Portfolios 1-7) The largest tracking maps of Hurricanes Betsy and Camille are housed in portfolios on the shelves. ( 3 CONTAINER LISTING ( Series I Box 1: 1915-8/12/57 Bertha Folder 1. 9/29115 Barograph 2. 9/3/48 Hurricane 3. 9/3/49 Tropical Storm 4. 9/29/54 Barbara 5. 10/9/54 Hazel 6. 811155 Brenda 7. 8112/55 Connie 8. 8117/55 Diane 9. 8/24/55 Edith 10. 8/26/55 Gulf Disturbance 11. 911/55 Gladys 12. 919/55 Hilda 13. 9/17/55 lone 14. 9125155 Janet 15. 9112/56 Tropical Storm - File #1 16. 9/12/56 Tropical Storm - File #2 17. 9112156 Tropical Storm Legal Action 18. 7/25/56 Anna 19. 8110156 Betsy 20. 9/13/56 Ethel 21. 9/21156 Flossy 22. 6/27/57 Audrey - File #1 23. 6/27/57 Audrey - File #2 24. 6/27/57 Audrey - File #3 25. 8/21157 Bertha Box 2: 9/8/57 Debbie-6/9/59 Tropical Storm Folder 1. 9/8/57 Debbie 2. 9116/57 Esther 3. 6114/58 Alma 4. 8/18/58 Becky 5. 8/20/58 Cleo 6. 8/24/58 Daisy 7. 8/31158 Ella - File #1 8. 8/31/58 Ella - File #2 9. 9/12/58 Fifi 10. 9115158 Gerda 11. 9/24/58 Helene 12. 9/25/58 lIsa 13. 10/6/58 Janice 4 14. 5/29/59 Arlene 15. 6/9/59 Tropical Storm - File #1 16. 6/9/59 Tropical Storm - File #2 Box 3: 6/15/59 Beulah-1959 Various Folder 1. 6/15/59 Beulah 1A. 6/15/59 Beulah-File #1 2. 717/59 Cindy 3. 7/24/59 Debra 4. 7/24/59 Debra-File #2 5. 8/17/59 Edith 6. 9/5/59 Flora 7. 9/26/59 Gracie 8. 9/28/59 Hannah 9. 10/8/59 Irene 10. 10/15/59 Judith 11. 1959 Pacific 12. 1959 Various Box 4: 7/10/60 Abby-7/20/61 Anna Folder 1. 7/10/60 Abby - File #1 2. 7/10/60 Abby - File #2 3. 7/29/60 Brenda 4. 9/8/60 Donna - File # 1 5. 9/8/60 Donna - File #2 6. 9/8/60 Donna - File #3 7. 9/8/60 Donna- File #4 8. 9/14/60 Ethel 9. 9/8/60 Estelle and Fernando (pacific) 10. 9/19/60 Florence 11. 7/20/61 Anna Box 5: 9/3/61 Betsy-9/11/61 Debbie Folder 1. 9/3/61 Betsy - File # 1 2. 9/3/61 Betsy - File #2 3. 9/4/61 Carla - File #1 4. 9/4/61 Carla - File #2 5. 9/4/61 Carla - File #3 6. 9/4/61 Carla - File #4 7. 9/4/61 Carla - File #5 8. 9/4/61 Carla - File #6 9. 9/4/61 Carla - File #7 10. 917/61 Debbie 5 Box 6: 9/14/61Esther-9/30/62 Daisy Folder 1. 9/14/61 Esther - File #1 2. 9/14/61 Esther - File #2 3. 9/30/61 Frances - File # 1 4. 9/30/61 Frances - File #2 5. 10/20/61 Gerda 6. 10/28/61 Hattie 7. 1114/61 Inga 8. 11/6/61 Jenny 9. 8/28/62 Alma 9A. 9/12/62 Celia 10. 9/23/62 Tropical Depression 11. 9/30/62 Daisy Box 7: 10/15/62 Ella-8/7 /64 Abby and Brenda Folder 1. 10/15/62 Ella 2. 8/2/63 Arlene 3. 8/21163 Beulah 4. 9/16/63 Cindy - File # 1 5. 9/16/63 Cindy - File #2 6. 9/24/63 Edith 7. 9/30/63 Flora - File #1 8. 9/30/63 Flora - File #2 9. 10/21163 Ginny 10. 10/25/63 Helena 11. 8/7/64 Abby and Brenda Box 8: 8/20/64 Cleo-6/14/65 Tropical Activity Folder 1. 8/20/64 Cleo 2. 9/1164 Dora 3. 9/5/64 Ethel 4. 9/13/64 Gladys 5. 9/29/64 Hilda 6. 10/12/64 Isbell 7. 6/14 and 9/7/65 Tropical Activity Box 9: 8/27/65 Betsy Folder 1. 8/27/64 Betsy - File #1 2. 8/27/64 Betsy - File #2 3. 8/27/64 Betsy - File #3 4. 8/27/64 Betsy - Correspondence File # 1 6 5. 8/27/64 Betsy - Correspondence File #2 ( 6. 8/27/64 Betsy - Correspondence File #3 7. 8/27/64 Betsy - Correspondence File #4 Box 10: 9/20/65 Carol-9/22/66 Inez Folder 1. 8/20/65 Carol 2. 9/24/65 Debbie 3. 10/13/65 Elena 4. 6/5/66 Alma 5. 6/28/66 Tropical Depression 6. 7/13/66 Celia 7. 8/22/66 Faith - File #1 8. 8/22/66 Faith - File #2 9. 9/4/66 Greta 10. 9/20/66 Hallie Box 11: 9/22/66 Inez-9/7/67 Beulah Folder 1. 9/22/66 Inez - File # 1 2. 9/22/66 Inez - File #2 3. 9/22/66 Inez - File #3 4. 9/22/66 Inez - File #4 5. 9/22/66 Inez - File #5 6. 9/28/66 Judith 7. 8/30/67 Arlene 8. 9/7/67 Beulah 9. 9/7/67 Beulah-File #2 Box 12: 9/8/67 Chloe-10/6/67 Ginger Folder 1. 9/8/67 Chloe 2. 9/9/67 Doria 3. 9/26/67 Edith 4. 10/2/67 Fern 5. 10/6/67 Ginger Box 13: 8/17/69 Camille Folder 1. 8/17/69 Camille--Environmental Science Services Administration data 2. 8/17/69 Camille--ESSA data 3. 8/17/69 Camille data-Various sources 4. 8/17/69 Camille-Reports from individuals 5. 8/17/69 Camille--Correspondence 6. 8/17/69 Camille-Affidavits 7. 8/17/69 Camille-Bulletins 7 8. 8/17/69 Camille-Maps ( Box 14: 8/17/69 Camille Folder 1. 8/17/69 Camille-Radar reports and photographs 2.