Central Texas tornado outbreak

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Northeastern United States tornado outbreak

Date of tornado outbreak:

May 27, 1997

Duration¹:

13.5 hours

Maximum rated tornado²:

F5 tornado

Tornadoes caused:

16 confirmed

Damages:

>$120 million 1989 USD ($190 million 2005 USD)

Fatalities:

30 (one indirect)

Areas affected:

Central Texas

¹Time from first tornado to last tornado
²Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

The Central Texas tornado outbreak was an unusual tornado outbreak in central Texas which occurred on May 27, 1997. The F5 tornado that struck the town of Jarrell, Texas killed 27 people out of 131 residents, making it the second deadliest tornado of the 1990s. The tornado was 3/4 of a mile (1.2 km) wide and tracked across the ground for 7.6 miles (12.2 km). Double Creek Estates, a subdivision of Jarrell, was literally wiped off the map with all 38 homes and several mobile homes destroyed.

Table of confirmed tornadoes - after surveys by local weather service offices

Confirmed Total	Confirmed F0	Confirmed F1	Confirmed F2	Confirmed F3	Confirmed F4	Confirmed F5
20	6	6	3	3	1	1

1 Track
2 Where's my roof?
3 Overpass Traffic Jam
4 Related damage
5 See also
6 Sources

[edit] Track

The tornado first touched down in Bell County, about a mile west of I-35. It then tracked south-southwest into Williamson County, Texas, where it grazed the northwestern portion of Jarrell, striking Double Creek Estates.

Later analysis of the damage indicated the tornado was a definite F5. It is believed that in the field where the tornado developed, it ripped the corn husks out of the ground by the millions and then impaled the cows in the next field. The tornado lifted the cows and dropped them on the ground multiple times, breaking their legs.

The grass and dirt was ripped up out of the ground to a depth of 18 in (50 cm). When the tornado crossed county roads outside Jarrell, it ripped 500 feet (150m) of asphalt off the roads.

After passing through Double Creek Estates, the tornado headed toward a heavily wooded area where the damage abruptly stopped.

[edit] Where's my roof?

At one of the early houses struck, the tornado ripped off the roof of a monolithic concrete shelter (approximately 6 inches thick, weighing well over a ton). The shelter's owner looked for his missing roof for a week without success.

Apparently it caught into the wind, ripped off the top of the shelter, and flew off, never to be seen again. The tornado was only at F2 strength at the time.

The first Williamson County Sheriff's Deputy to arrive on the scene was unfamiliar with that particular area – he saw the path of the tornado by the damaged earth it left behind, but he did not immediately see any typical damaged homes or debris, and thus called out on the radio that the tornado had not seemed to have produced any damage. He was thus not aware that the blank land that he was looking at had been, 10 minutes earlier, the Double Creek neighborhood. It was wiped clean – houses were vaporized, concrete slabs were pulverized, and even sewer & water pipes were sucked up out of the ground.

This would be the last F5 tornado to hit the United States until April 8, 1998, when a tornado hit in Birmingham, Alabama. (see the Birmingham Tornado)

[edit] Overpass Traffic Jam

Numerous vehicles parked near and under various overpasses on Interstate 35 as the tornado formed and grew strength, apparently attempting to seek shelter from the storm under the bridge. In addition, Texas State Patrol worsened the traffic jam by stopping both northbound and southbound traffic in anticipation of the tornado moving southeastward and crossing the highway. Had the tornado abruptly changed directions, as they often do, the death toll could have been much higher as nearly five miles of traffic and hundreds of people were trapped on the highway. However, the tornado moved parallel to I-35 for nearly its entire lifespan in a south-southwestward direction, a very rare occurance.

Eye Witness Account:

Just south of Georgetown on northbound I-35, which is about 14 miles from Jarrell, a huge wall of black loomed in the distance. Not being familar with wall clouds, having been a California transplant I was a little cautious and turned on the radio to the local news. There was indeed confirmation of a tornado, but the details were still a bit sketchy. Cars were stopping as people searched for shelter. The corridor along the highway in that location was largely undeveloped with limited shelter opportunity. I ended up being parked under an overpass, wedged between two semi's with cars in front of and behind me. As the storm approached, I remember the typical highway landscape trees outside bending sideways and seeing blue tinted fireballs exploding from telephone pole transformers as the wires snapped, one after another.

[edit] Related damage

The Jarrell Tornado was the worst in a line of tornadoes associated with a single severe thunderstorm system.

As the storm travelled south, it generated another tornado near Cedar Park, which destroyed an Albertsons grocery store. A National Weather Service report credits the store manager with saving numerous lives by evacuating those in the store into a steel meat locker. No lives were lost in Cedar Park, although there was significant property damage. Hail with a diameter of 4 in. (10 cm) was reported in association with this tornado.

Further tornadoes hit northwestern Austin, causing property damage and injuries. An F4 tornado struck in western Travis County, killing one person and destroying 15 homes.

The storm continued to produce minor tornadoes and funnel clouds as far south as Frio County. Hail was reported all the way to the Mexican border at Del Rio at 8:55pm (CDT).