| Date of tornado outbreak: | May 27, 1997 |
| Duration1: | 13.5 hours |
| Maximum rated tornado2: | F5 tornado |
| Tornadoes caused: | 20 confirmed |
| Damages: | >$190 million 2005 USD |
| Fatalities: | 27 |
| Areas affected: | Central Texas |
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1Time from first tornado to last tornado |
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The 1997 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 1319 residents.[1] The tornado was 3/4 of a mile (1.2 km) wide and tracked across the ground for 7.6 miles (12.2 km).[2] Double Creek Estates, a subdivision of Jarrell, was literally wiped off the map with all 38 homes and several mobile homes destroyed.[2]
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In the early morning hours of May 27, a large Mesoscale Convective Complex developed over Eastern Oklahoma and Western Arkansas. A "gravity wave" or outflow boundary was generated by this system and stalled out over Central Texas. This was oriented from the northeast to the southwest, causing the movement of the supercells later on to be to the southwest, which is extremely unusual. Also unusual on this day was the low shear and extreme instability.[2]
| Confirmed Total |
Confirmed F0 |
Confirmed F1 |
Confirmed F2 |
Confirmed F3 |
Confirmed F4 |
Confirmed F5 |
| 20 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| List of confirmed tornadoes - May 27, 1997 | ||||||
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| Texas | ||||||
| F2 | W of Lorena | McLennan | 1821 | 2 miles (3.2 km) |
The tornado severely damaged several mobile homes and one frame house.[3] | |
| F0 | N of Eddy | McLennan | 1844 | 0.2 miles (0.32 km) |
Brief tornado with no damage | |
| F3 | Moody area | McLennan, Bell | 1846 | 3.7 miles (5.9 km) |
It did extensive damage to trees, destroyed a house and a barn, damaged another small house, and tossed a car and a pickup truck several hundred feet.[2] | |
| F0 | NW of Belton | Bell | 1916 | 0.2 miles (0.32 km) |
Weak tornado with no damage | |
| F3 | W of Temple | Bell | 1927 | 1.4 miles (2.2 km) |
The tornado caused significant damage to structures around Lake Belton. 10 homes had severe damage and 100 boats were destroyed.[2] | |
| F1 | SW of Belton | Bell | 1950 | 0.2 miles (0.32 km) |
Brief tornado with unknown damage | |
| F1 | N of Blooming Grove | Navarro | 2005 | 0.5 miles (0.8 km) |
Damage limited to trees | |
| F1 | Prairie Dell area | Bell | 2007 | 2.4 miles (3.8 km) |
Damage to several structures and numerous trees | |
| F2 | SW of Prairie Dell | Williamson | 2025 | 2 miles (3.2 km) |
First of three tornadoes touching down near the Jarrell area. | |
| F2 | W of Jarrell | Williamson | 2035 | 0.5 miles (0.8 km) |
Second of three tornadoes touching down near the Jarrell area | |
| F1 | S of Dawson | Navarro | 2036 | 0.5 miles (0.8 km) |
Damage limited to trees | |
| F5 | Jarrell area | Williamson | 2040[4] | 5.1 miles (8.2 km) |
27 Deaths A weak pencil-like tornado touched down near the Bell-Williamson County line, the funnel rapidly intensified into a 3/4 mile wide multi-vortex storm at around 3:45 PM CDT. The tornado continued on before destroying and sweeping away many of the buildings in Double Creek Estates. As the tornado continued it ripped asphalt off the roads. The tornado pulled grass and soil from the ground to a depth of 18 inches (46 cm) before dissipating near a wooded area outside Jarrell. Jump to section on this tornado | |
| F0 | SW of Hubbard | Hill | 2050 | 0.2 miles (0.32 km) |
Brief tornado with no damage | |
| F3 | Cedar Park area | Williamson, Travis | 2105 | 9.2 miles (14.7 km) |
1 Death This tornado produced relatively minor damage before moving into Cedar Park. The tornado devastated the downtown area of Cedar Park, specifically an Albertson's Grocery Store. The tornado then moved into the Buttercup Subdivision, severely damaging some homes. One man died here of cardiac arrest while waiting out the tornado in his pickup truck; his death was not counted in the total.[2] | |
| F1 | SW of Anderson Mill | Travis | 2115 | 0.2 miles (0.32 km) |
Brief tornado preceding the main Lake Travis tornado. | |
| F4 | S of Lake Travis | Travis | 2150 | 5.6 miles (9 km) |
1 Death The tornado initially caused major damage to a marina on Lake Travis. The tornado then severely damaged a reinforced concrete building containing a telephone switching center. It then completely destroyed a stone house, leaving the foundation bare. It then moved into the Hazy Hills subdivision, destroying several homes and mobile homes. This tornado killed one man while he was either blown from his mobile home or truck while attempting to seek safe shelter.[2] | |
| F1 | Kyle area | Hays | 2038 | 3.5 miles (5.6 km) |
Damage to trees and power lines | |
| F0 | S of Utopia | Uvalde | 0000 | 0.2 miles (0.32 km) |
Brief tornado with no damage | |
| F0 | NW of Sisterdale | Kendall | 0030 | 0.7 miles (1.1 km) |
Brief tornado with no damage | |
| F0 | E of Moore | Frio | 0120 | 1 miles (1.6 km) |
Brief tornado in open country | |
| Source: Tornado History Project - Storm Data for May 27, 1997 | ||||||
Initially a weak pencil-like tornado near the Bell-Williamson County line, the funnel rapidly intensified into a 3/4 mile wide multi-vortex storm at around 3:45 PM CDT.
Its first damage occurred three minutes later at 3:48 PM CDT in the northwestern portion of Jarrell striking Double Creek Estates. It later moved into a wooded area before dissipating after damaging numerous trees.[2]
Grass and soil in fields near Jarrell were ripped out of the ground to a depth of 18 in (46 cm). When the tornado crossed county roads outside Jarrell, it tore a 500-foot (152 m) length of asphalt from the roads.[2]
About 40 structures were completely destroyed by the tornado and dozens of vehicles were lifted in the air and tossed, some thrown more than half a mile. Many researchers, after reviewing aerial damage photographs of Double Creek Estates, considered the Jarrell storm to be the most violent tornado, in terms of damage intensity, that they had ever seen. Most of the homes in the tornadoes path were well-constructed and bolted to their foundations: the tornado left only the slab foundations.[5] Several entire families were killed in the tornado, including all five members of the Igo family and all four members of the Moehring family.[6]
There were 27 human fatalities in the Double Creek subdivision. In addition, about 300 cattle were killed by the storm.
About 10 minutes prior to the main event, eye-witnesses spotted additional tornadoes north and west of Jarrell.[4]
Numerous vehicles sought shelter underneath various overpasses as the tornado formed and strengthened, turning Interstate 35 into a virtual parking lot. Texas Highway 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 direction, the death toll could have been much higher as nearly five miles of traffic and hundreds of people were trapped on the highway with no route of escape. However, the tornado moved parallel to Interstate 35 for nearly its entire lifespan in a south-southwestward direction, a very rare occurrence.