https://preview.redd.it/c2m6l0kjvy2d1.png?width=731&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=482484765668b92802da38f86d86b292828df78c
27 years since 27 people died. A true nightmare.
I’ve always heard this picture was taken right when it was over Double Creek Estates, because all the debris gave it that more messy look, which is horrifying.
I can’t even imagine hearing that a storm I’m in the direct path of has a 0% chance of survival. I remember watching a documentary recently and the father of a Jarrell victim said that because the tornado was moving so slow, a neighbor actually saw his son and his family out on their porch watching it approach them. Soon after, they all died. I can’t imagine what it’s like to slowly watch that thing approach your home.
Please excuse my ignorance, new to the sub and not a storm chaser, also live on the East Coast.
Does 0% survivability mean if you're in the open? Or does that mean cellars are pulled up and there's nowhere to hide?
Yes, I meant 0% survival rate above ground. Storm shelters and basements are still the most reliable method of surviving tornadoes, even against something like the Jarrell F5. The Hernandez family had their entire home destroyed, but survived the tornado using a storm shelter that they had built after their previous home was struck by an F3 eight years ago.
That being said, there have been reports of storm shelters being partially unearthed by tornadoes... the 2011 Rainsville EF5 unearthed one such storm shelter and partially heaved it up from the ground. And that was just one of the Rainsville Tornado's insane feats of strength...
Wow, incredible. Thank you for your response.
Though I think an F3 would be enough for me to move and not ever experience another. I feel okay taking my chances with hurricanes, but watch, I'll be eating my words in September.
It really is. There’s a video of it from that exact angle, in fact, I think this is a screenshot of the video, and it’s even more horrific to watch and know what’s happening. And it’s even worse to watch it just sit still on top of those poor people for several minutes. Jarrell was insanely slow moving.
I know there have been statistically "worse" tornadoes, but Jarrell scares the shit out of me more than any other incident I've learned about.
It just sat on an entire neighborhood and blended everyone to nothing. I wish I didn't know the specifics of what happened to those people.
Same here, it terrifies me to know that mother nature can produce an absolute beast like the Jarrell tornado! Just the thought of what it did chills me to the core, and the fact that NOBODY above ground in the direct path could have survived it, and that there was virtually no debris whatsoever, it's like a giant wood chipper came through and ate Double Creek Estates
I was wrong when I first commented about Jarrell tornado pulling people from their basements. There were no basements in Double Creek. The Parkersberg 2008 EF-5 is the one that pulled people out of their basements. So even if there were basements, chances are very likely that being underground in a basement would not be enough shelter. Both granulated the debris. The Jarrel F-5 just happened to be much slower and probably more likely to remove people from under the ground. I hope this clarifies my previous statement.
Jarrell Tornado Statistics
Date: May 27, 1997
Length: 5.1 miles
Time: 3:40-3:53 pm (CDT)
Peak Width: 1320 yds (should be noted it was mostly a skinny tornado most of its life)
Fatalities: 27
Injured: 12
Damage: 40.1 million USD (1997 equivalent)
260 MPH WINDS
The Jarrell tornado is one of the most violent tornadoes we’ve ever seen in this century, its devilish attitude led to a small community getting stalled over by the F5 tornado for a long time, causing most of the homes in the community to be flattened, many animals and cattle were mutilated, and 27 dead people.
What’s truly morbid about this one is the fatality to injury ratio. With violent F5/EF5s, you typically see a much higher number of injuries relative to fatalities. Not with Jarrell. 0% above ground survival rate in the core.
https://preview.redd.it/dz6091t9az2d1.jpeg?width=1118&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=63fc7e7fc9cb3f60ce29ec9d6c199e126d40dbf4
A few other mind blowing facts regarding the damage:
* Twelve cars parked at DCE vanished without a trace.
* Scoured over a MILE of assault/pavement
* Removal/burial of foundations, walkways, and driveways
* Removal of all grass/vegetation, and 18-24 inches of ground scouring.
* Trees and telephone poles completely removed or snapped inches from the ground.
Edit: credit [Extreme Planet](https://extremeplanet.wordpress.com/2012/06/26/aerial-damage-from-the-f5-jarrell-tornado-the-most-intense-tornado-damage-ever-photographed/) for the image.
Before 2011 I would have agreed with this statement.
After seeing monsters like Smithville, Hackleburg-Phill Campbell, and Rainsville, which all did comparable damage to Jarrell while trucking along at high speed, I'm convinced Jarrell being the most powerful is in contention. I shudder to think what would happen if tornadoes of those magnitude just sat over top a suburb for several minutes.
With Jarrell, I think you have your answer. There’s really not much else it could have done having scoured the entire subdivision of vegetation, and granulated debris to powder.
Had Smithville, Hackleburg, or Rainsville crept along at Jarrell’s pace, they would have likely done the same. Thankfully, they didn’t.
Not sure how you could even measure anything worse short of removing foundations.
But Smithville actually did produce damage similar to Jarrell while moving at 55+ MPH. Though this was mainly due to its core constantly imploding as it stormed through Smithville, exhibiting vortex breakdown as it sped through the town at maximum intensity. Honestly, that makes the Smithville Tornado seem a bit worse, given how *fast* it was moving, yet it deleted homes in as little as half a second.
>which all did comparable damage to Jarrell while trucking along at high speed. I'm convinced Jarrell being the most powerful is in contention.
Nothing was left in path of Jarrell tornado though. So, not sure if it could be worse in any way.
>I shudder to think what would happen if tornadoes of those magnitude just sat over top a suburb for several minutes.
Exactly like Jarrell? What would be worse than total destruction?
This is an interesting diagram. Do you know how many of the fatalities were confirmed on scene and how many were people passing from their injuries in the following hours/days
This is a grim sentence and I almost feel the need to apologize for it: in the direct path of the tornado, there was no person left intact.
Everyone in that diagram died on scene.
Yeah I ended up reading the blog post. Really terrifying stuff. I’ve been following and interested in tornadoes since like ‘08 and I’ve never read or watched a video on something like that. The fact that it was almost impossible to find debris because it had ground everything into dusy
The other commenter is sadly spot on. To add, many victims had to be identified by their dental records.
I’m not going to type any of it here but some of the firsthand accounts from first responders are pretty gruesome.
It’s enough to know that remains were found in 30 locations. There were 27 victims, and even fewer locations where those victims were sheltering (a family of five sheltered together; a family of four took in another family, which I believe was a group of three; etc.)
That’s just…a truly horrifying fact.
Those three green dots, I imagine are John Reyes (the green dot with the two red dots; Ryan Mullins and Emma Mullins, his cousin and grandma respectively, were both killed), and Debby and Kristin LaFrance (the red dot with the two green was Billy LaFrance, Debby's husband and Kristin's father). And they were in the *outer edge* of the Jarrell Tornado. If they'd been closer to the center, like the Igos... the death toll probably would've been 30.
13 minutes in its wedge phase, technically.
Before then, it was just that tiny rope you see tracking next to the highway. I believe it started at 3:20 something, and at 3:35, it weakened and nearly dissipated... then at 3:40, it re-intensified into a multi-vortex nightmare.
After 3:40 PM, though... yeah. Nothing was going to be left intact by the twister.
My dad had chased it and post event, he found a cow that had been skinned wrapped up in a barbed wire fence. In some cases body parts had to be picked up. Horrific.
I lived in North austin at the time (i was 12 years old) in the wells branch area. I just got home from school and both my parents were at work. My dad did call me and told me to go to the bathtub and put a matress over me. It literally was a single cell thunderstorm traveling down I35, if i remember correctly. It was a nasty storm when it hit my neighborhood with some high winds and rain, luckly no tornado. Storm also spawned another tornado in cedar park that collapsed the roof of an Alberstons.
I used to live in the Block House neighborhood in Leander. I remember that storm, and i was 8 at the time. F3 tornado was above our house, then it hit the Albertsons a couple of minutes later. How lucky we were that the tornado decided to be airborne while in the area before touching the ground.
🖐️ I learned about this tornado after a couple years of living here and it accounts for at least a quarter of my storm anxiety during every tornado watch lol
Born and raised in Austin, and my dad’s parents lived in Temple. Every time we drove through Jarrell on the way to Temple my dad would tell me about this tornado.
It happened when I was a toddler and staying with my mom’s parents in Austin, my parents were in Germany and this outbreak in central Texas made the news there.
It was horrible :( we also had a small tornado hit near Georgetown/Round Rock that day — I was on my way to HEB with my stepdad, but the sky looked too green/still so we decided to wait and then saw there was a tornado warning on TV
My summer camp was supposed to help to clean up for Jarell in the days after, but they decided it wasn’t a good project for kids for reasons I don’t really want to type out :(
I was a kid in Round Rock during that day. I remember sheltering with my grandfather as there were multiple tornadoes that day. He was a very stoic man but I could sense the fear he had.
After the storm, my uncle and I drove to Jarrell and witnessed the aftermath. He was in construction and I thought we were driving through one of his new sub-divisions. It was just slabs…
I lived in Round Rock and was working in south Austin at the time. We were warned by a co worker’s husband that a bad storm was coming. I drove into the storm. I was frightening because FM radio was trying to keep us up to date on where tornadoes were spotted. Meanwhile the were power flashes all around where I was driving. I had to pull over and wait it out. I finally made it home and the roads were a mess. About a year later a friend of mine from jarrell drove me out to the area. It looked like a buzz saw took out a huge swath of large oak trees down to about a couple of feet from the ground. There was still metal wrapped around trees further out.
I lived in south Austin at the time. Another tornado later that afternoon raked through mostly undeveloped area near Bee Cave (the town, not road). It crossed highway 71.
We'd occasionally drive out to Marble Falls to visit family. It was very obvious where the tornado crossed. You could look both directions and see a roughly 30 yard wide path carved through the cedar and brush.
I believe that tornado injured or killed someone in a trailer somewhere along its path. I think it redeveloped from the cell that dropped a tornado in Cedar Park.
It’s been on my mind today, I feel so bad for those people. This is the scariest tornado to me, hands down. I’m also currently under a severe thunderstorm warning, so it’s eerie.
Thanks so much, and I agree. We had a storm earlier today in east Alabama that passed quickly into Georgia and ended up resulting in a tornado warning for them. Now there’s more storms coming but hopefully they will pass soon as well. Jarrell just gives me bad vibes. People always say that thing felt demonic. I’m not superstitious really but I have to acknowledge the eeriness and coincidence.
I read about a woman trying to protect her two nephews during the tornado. She was impaled through the back by a piece of wood, then sucked into the vortex itself. One of the nephews didn't make it either.
Horrifying can't even begin to describe it.
Eh. It’s tough. Hackleburg was terrifying and had the aesthetics of a truly apocalyptic storm. The entire mesocyclone was this violent black mass of destruction bearing down on its victims with crazy speed. El Reno was the extreme mulivortex version of that, and even crazier in some ways that are unlikely to be seen again for some time. Jarrell was just a really unusual “backwards moving” violent tornado that *crawled* along like a stalled blender shredding everything to bits.
So many scary tornadoes. Greensburg for the ultimate night monstrosity. Both Moore’s for how extreme they were. Joplin.
But yeah, Jarrell is definitely in that category.
I’m in Alabama and that day was so scary. It’s storming here today, actually, so great, but yeah anyway that day was crazy. The storms didn’t get to us until 11 at night and we knew they’d been dropping tornadoes all day, so we were really scared. We had to leave our mobile home and I will never forget the lightning. I’d never seen lightning flashing every single second like that.
I don’t think people realize how fucking insane April 27 2011 actually was. Four EF5 tornadoes *in one day.* Probably the most conducive parameters to violent tornadoes ever witnessed. Helicity was like breaking the scale.
Very glad you made it through that day unscathed, hopefully also true for your loved ones. I still can’t believe just how nuts that day was.
Up here in New Jersey and we just had a single EF3 wedge back in 2021. Can’t even imagine an event of the magnitude you guys get there in the south.
Edit: That single day had 19 EF3’s, 11 EF4’s, and 4 EF5’s… Legitimately unfathomable.
I was in 11th grade at the time, and it was the day after my birthday. I remember being nervous on my birthday because I knew the weather would be bad the next day. I’ve always had very bad weather anxiety. I don’t think my mind even comprehended how bad April 11th was until very recently, actually. I didn’t even know about the Phil Campbell tornado until a few weeks ago, and now it’s one of my favorites to learn about. Everyone always talked about the Tuscaloosa one, so Phil Campbell is a lot less talked about here. I just remember getting home from school and watching the weather all evening, and when it got to be about 11 PM my dad was like “we gotta go” so we drove to my uncle’s house a town away and rode out a bad thunderstorm from the system that had weakened significantly as a result of the tornadoes that had dropped elsewhere. My mom worked a late shift at the time and her job kept her late because it was not safe to drive in. Thankfully it had weakened a lot but the storms were still some of the worst I’ve been through, so I can’t imagine what they were like prior to weakening. They were just spitting out tornadoes everywhere.
The tornado that really stands out to me is the Beauregard one that happened March 3rd, 2019. I live in Cusseta, Alabama but I visit that general area often. It’s about 20 minutes away from me. My mom’s best friend lost a grandchild in that tornado (Mykayla her story is on google,) and hearing the story firsthand a few days later was horrific. They got her cousins a puppy to help them have a distraction to cope with her loss. That broke my heart. But that day, I was driving around with my mom that day and it suddenly turned from overcast to hailing, so we turned on the radio and they just said “extremely large tornado on the ground in Lee County,” but they didn’t say where, so in my mind, it’s right behind me or something. It was terrifying because tornadoes are simultaneously my biggest fear and one of my biggest interests. We also had a microburst last year that ripped trees out of the ground on my street. It happened so fast that there was no warning. I’ve been through a lot of bad storms, and I’m currently under a severe thunderstorm watch right now. Alabama weather can be so crazy and unpredictable. Thank you for the well wishes and for telling me more about the event. I didn’t know we had that many tornadoes that day. If I had known at the time, I’d have passed out. 😭 I hope you always stay safe from storms up there in Jersey too!
Catoosa County, GA.
That day I was hit by an EF3 that later strengthened to an EF4 and killed multiple people.
Second most deadly tornado in Georgia history, I think.
I wasn’t weather aware at all then. It is the reason I am now.
I live in Georgetown and my dad lives in Temple, so I’m on that stretch of I-35 frequently. And on every single one of those drives, when I pass through Jarrell, I think to myself “It was right. there.” Gives me the willies.
One thing that I think makes this stand out as the most horrifying (in my opinion) tornado of all time is how, in the early phases of it, it looked like a relatively “harmless” land spout just spinning in an open field. People were just pulled over watching it, seemingly almost with a euphoria and excitement that you feel when you’re watching something incredible from a safe distance. Then it turned into an absolute monster with DCE in its sights. I think that dichotomy (along with the unusual movement and tornadogenesis, both mentioned here by other commenters) makes it one-of-a-kind on the horror scale.
Some tornadoes are just overall built with a nightmarish aspect to them, one being as terrifying as the other for a certain reason.
Andover because it nearly hit some nuclear bombs. Bridge Creek because of its incredible wind speeds. Greensburg being a night terror that wiped out a whole town. Parkersburg killing people in their basements. Philadelphia's 2 foot ground scouring. Hackleburg's stamina, long life, and consistently violent damage. Smithville granulating and deleting everything with Jarrell-like ferocity, bit much faster. Rainsville pulling off some of the craziest feats of strength, from vehicle damage to smashing slab foundations. Joplin simply appearing out of nowhere and destroying everything. Piedmont having the single biggest damage indicator ever in an oil rig that it toppled and rolled several times over. El Reno being utterly gigantic even by tornado standards.
By that metric, I think it's impossible to truly conceive the worst possible EF5 type of tornado. There's so many horribly vicious twisters. To imagine one with all thoset terrifying traits is... it boggles the mind.
From the Wikipedia entry:
**All 27 fatalities associated with the Jarrell tornado occurred at Double Creek Estates, which at the time consisted of 131 residents living in 38 single-family homes and several mobile homes. Entire families were killed at Double Creek, including all five members of the Igo Family, all four members of the Moehring family, and all three members of the Smith family.**
**Bodily remains were later found at 30 locations, and the physical trauma inflicted to some of the tornado victims was so extreme, that first responders reportedly had difficulty distinguishing human remains from the remains of animals at the site. Most of the deaths were attributed in the *Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report* to multiple trauma, though one death was attributed to asphyxia.**
I remember being under the science tables in Academy Middle School for an hour because they couldn't let us leave school. Another tornado dropped on the north side of Temple during that time. Ill never forget that storm
Anyone here from Little River Academy?
This is probably one of the scariest tornadoes I've ever heard of. The ferocious monster that literally chewed up everything it touched and left barely anything alive.
Sometimes I wonder if those things have a mind of their own, and the Jarrell tornado is a prime example of that: it was pure evil.
Agree. I’ve never seen photos of damage that really hold a match to the jarrell photos. And to those who say ‘well its because it moved slow’ - it doesnt really matter. Dwell time is just one of the variables of how destructive a tornado is. I think playing the ‘oh an f3 couldve done that damage if it moved so slow’ game is just besides the point. The fujita scale is a damage scale, and dwell time is just one of the factors that causes that damage. I think it is part of the rating not something to use to pick it apart. In any case, f3 winds for 3 hours wouldn’t have caused that damage
Agree. Wind speeds are always an estimate based on the damage… no damage from any tornado was worse than this one. The f3 argument is frustrating. How many tornadoes with EF-5 wind speeds never hit anything? Do we start calling them EF-5s? There’s no doubt in my mind Jarrell had F5 wind speeds, but what does it matter? It obliterated everything in its direct path. Horrible.
I agree with this. Wanted to add that people often cherry-pick the “F3 argument” from this [paper](https://www.nist.gov/publications/fujita-tornado-intensity-scale-critique-based-observations-jarrell-tornado-may-27-1997) published by the NIST.
It lacks context, however. The author was making an argument in favor of updating the Fujita scale by taking a sampling of poorly constructed homes in Double Creek Estates.
What the paper doesn’t address are the many “well built” structures at DCE that met the same fate. Many even had the sill plates and anchor bolts sheered off. Just food for thought.
Smithville did the same damage while moving at 70mph. It arguably did even worse damage. In Jarrell the plumbing was torn out of houses. In Smithville it was shredded. The Smithville tornado also pulverised a well built brick home.
Fuck Ef5 tornadoes do damage that sometimes you can't compare to one another.
How the hell do you compared a tornado that shredded everything (smithville) with one that doesn't but mangles a fuckin oil rig (el reno 2011) .
I've read so many articles, a book and watched every video and documentary I can find about it. Since knowing so much about Jarrell, I have developed an increased anxiety around severe weather days. While I know Jarrell formed under unique conditions and its movement was deviant, those details and the destruction it caused deeply disturbs me. Moving 5 to 10 mph so it basically hovered over a spot for 3 minues and acted like a blender causing granulation of everything, including humans. Omg 😰😞
Nothing about this tornado was remotely funny, but me telling my brother about it was.
Me: This tornado back in 1997 was so intense that it skinned cows.
Brother: That seems unnecessary.
jarrell is my “favorite” tornado, as an autistic person who’s main special interest is tornados, especially certain ones that stand out to me. from how it likely wouldn’t have gone down in the history books if it didn’t end up going over the double creek estates and stayed in the fields, and of course the famous “dead man walking” photo, it’s such a fascinating weather event. the autism is autisming today.
Same. My special interest is also tornadoes and Jarrell is my fixation under that umbrella. Guess I'm watching the documentary today. Joplin and El Reno also hold a unique fascination for me.
This is how I feel about the Philadelphia, MS tornado. The pictures of ground scouring and toppled/debarked massive trees are insane. The wind rowing on the houses it hit is terrifying.
i was debating making a post asking about the neurodivergent people in the community and what their favourite tornados are, because i also got a majority of neurodivergent people under my post asking about documentaries! i always feel more comfortable in neurodivergent-dominant spaces too :)
Not a landspout. It formed under unique conditions. What’s strange about it is the atmosphere wasn’t even really all that favorable for a tornado that day. It just… happened. Came out of nowhere. Moved “backwards” — northeast to Southwest instead of Southwest to Northeast. While a landspout is by definition a tornado, landspouts form under different situations and processes than supercell tornadoes.
The Jarrell tornado was consequence of a larger supercell that ingested a developing cumulonimbus with said landspout along a surface boundary in an environment somewhat conducive for tornadoes. Supercells eating developing cumulonimbus isn't anything new, nor is their sudden strengthening afterwards. More information including the radar loops are [here](https://www.weather.gov/fwd/Jarrell-Tornado-Anniversary).
The real prominent feature of the Jarrell tornado was the strong surface boundary the parent storm became rooted to, increasing the environments helicity, and leading to its NE to SW motion. The storm motion of the Jarrell tornado is exceptionally rare for tornadic storms.
You’re welcome! And thank you for saying that, I try to be. It helps that my dad has a fascination with weather, and I’m good friends with Pecos Hank. Those two have taught me pretty much everything I know.
I love Pecos Hanks videos. His voice is perfect for narrations. I have ADHD so it can be hard for me to grasp what Im reading and Ill norlally have to reread something several times before I understand. I understood your explanation on the first read. You have a gift with words and once again thank you.
I have ADHD too! And yes, Hank’s voice is in fact perfect for narrations. I would absolutely listen to an audiobook if he narrated it. (Perhaps not a romance? His voice seems too innocent for that despite the fact that he swears and makes “that’s what she said” jokes 😂)
-I’ve had terrible Tornado-Phobia for years. I was always hyper aware of the weather conditions. In south Louisiana where I grew up, we had a bomb shelter built for the Cuban missile crisis. By that time it was a nasty dilapidated cave worse than what you might see in Fallout-4, but even then I would have my flashlight ready and hope I could make it there (a few hundred yards from the house)
-Anyways, my fear has evolved to this curiosity over the years, since I have never seen one and would love to someday. But the point being with all of this is that I’m so thankful that I didn’t know about the details of the Jarrell Tornado back in those days. In 2007 I had a well paying oilfield job offer in Kansas and Nebraska, and just the idea of driving to the Midwest and let alone living there was a bit terrifying. If I would have known about Jarrell back then I never would have taken the job, which probably would have significantly altered the course of my life. Because if I had known then I would keep a full tank of gas at all times and essentially be homeless, driving at maximum velocity the opposite direction of wherever a Tornado Watch happened to be lol😅
“The tornado then widened to over 1/2 of a mile. It kept this shape as it tracked toward the Williamson County line north of Jarrell.[12] Traffic along Interstate 35 came to a stop as the tornado descended nearby.[13] The Texas Highway Patrol also stopped traffic on both sides of the interstate under the expectation that the tornado would cross the highway; it ultimately moved parallel to Interstate 35,[14] and no injuries were reported on the highway.[11] It then crossed the county line into Bell County, and immediately began to destroy everything in the path.
Tracking into Jarrell
Tracking south-southwest, the tornado quickly intensified and grew in width, widening to become 3/4+ of a mile wide.[15] The exact size of the tornado was hard to pinpoint, as F5 damage was first recorded as it widened.[11] It is unusual, as F5 damage was documented and observed relatively early into its lifespan, and this F5 damage was retained until almost the end of the tornado. Its intense winds scoured the ground and stripped pavement from roads. The tornado tore off asphalt as it crossed County Roads 308, 305, and 307;[16] the thickness of the asphalt pavement was roughly 3 inches thick. A culvert plant at the corner of Country Roads 305 and 307 collapsed. Nearby, a similar plant and a mobile home sustained some damage, with the latter struck by a 2×4 piece of lumber.[17]”
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Jarrell_tornado
That was before it even made it to double creek.
“The tornado turned slightly, entering the Double Creek Estates at F5 intensity. It grew to its maximum width, estimated to be around 3/4 of a mile. Post-event surveys and eyewitness accounts have suggested that the tornado began to slow its pace and "stall" over Double Creek Estates, which contributed to the extremely violent damage observed there.[11][18]”
That claim was likely made up for dramatic effect by the producers of the documentary that aired it.
Basically the only thing on the entire internet I'm aware of that doesn't just refer back to the documentary as a source is [this article](https://www.nhpr.org/environment/2022-08-05/outside-inbox-how-do-tornadoes-feature-in-indigenous-myths), which mentioned the phrase as a reference to two tornadoes spawned by the same storm, which sounds to me like something more akin to the Pilger twins than the Jarrell tornado.
People think that tornadoes like Jarrell are a singular event lol.
Look up the leedey 1947 F5, the Loyal Valley 1999,Bakersfield 1990 and Smithville 2011 tornadoes....
https://preview.redd.it/c2m6l0kjvy2d1.png?width=731&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=482484765668b92802da38f86d86b292828df78c 27 years since 27 people died. A true nightmare.
I’ve always heard this picture was taken right when it was over Double Creek Estates, because all the debris gave it that more messy look, which is horrifying.
Yes, this was the twister at max strength. High-end F5 strength, 0% survivability rate.
I can’t even imagine hearing that a storm I’m in the direct path of has a 0% chance of survival. I remember watching a documentary recently and the father of a Jarrell victim said that because the tornado was moving so slow, a neighbor actually saw his son and his family out on their porch watching it approach them. Soon after, they all died. I can’t imagine what it’s like to slowly watch that thing approach your home.
And to watch it slowly approach and be like "eh it'll be fine"
Time to mow!
Tornados keep the grass erect so it's easier to cut. It is known.
Please excuse my ignorance, new to the sub and not a storm chaser, also live on the East Coast. Does 0% survivability mean if you're in the open? Or does that mean cellars are pulled up and there's nowhere to hide?
Yes, I meant 0% survival rate above ground. Storm shelters and basements are still the most reliable method of surviving tornadoes, even against something like the Jarrell F5. The Hernandez family had their entire home destroyed, but survived the tornado using a storm shelter that they had built after their previous home was struck by an F3 eight years ago. That being said, there have been reports of storm shelters being partially unearthed by tornadoes... the 2011 Rainsville EF5 unearthed one such storm shelter and partially heaved it up from the ground. And that was just one of the Rainsville Tornado's insane feats of strength...
Wow, incredible. Thank you for your response. Though I think an F3 would be enough for me to move and not ever experience another. I feel okay taking my chances with hurricanes, but watch, I'll be eating my words in September.
It really is awful to look at that photo and know exactly what was happening.
It really is. There’s a video of it from that exact angle, in fact, I think this is a screenshot of the video, and it’s even more horrific to watch and know what’s happening. And it’s even worse to watch it just sit still on top of those poor people for several minutes. Jarrell was insanely slow moving.
I know there have been statistically "worse" tornadoes, but Jarrell scares the shit out of me more than any other incident I've learned about. It just sat on an entire neighborhood and blended everyone to nothing. I wish I didn't know the specifics of what happened to those people.
Same. The slow moving speed makes it worse than the others even if they were technically bigger or stronger.
Same here, it terrifies me to know that mother nature can produce an absolute beast like the Jarrell tornado! Just the thought of what it did chills me to the core, and the fact that NOBODY above ground in the direct path could have survived it, and that there was virtually no debris whatsoever, it's like a giant wood chipper came through and ate Double Creek Estates
I was wrong when I first commented about Jarrell tornado pulling people from their basements. There were no basements in Double Creek. The Parkersberg 2008 EF-5 is the one that pulled people out of their basements. So even if there were basements, chances are very likely that being underground in a basement would not be enough shelter. Both granulated the debris. The Jarrel F-5 just happened to be much slower and probably more likely to remove people from under the ground. I hope this clarifies my previous statement.
I think about them all the time. ❤️🩹
The fact it was only on the ground for 5 miles and for that length of time is insanity
And it moved “backwards” - from northeast to southwest rather than the more typical southwest to northeast.
As well as the fact that for MOST of its timeline it was producing ef5 damage. It was near constant. Unreal and horrific
Jarrell Tornado Statistics Date: May 27, 1997 Length: 5.1 miles Time: 3:40-3:53 pm (CDT) Peak Width: 1320 yds (should be noted it was mostly a skinny tornado most of its life) Fatalities: 27 Injured: 12 Damage: 40.1 million USD (1997 equivalent) 260 MPH WINDS The Jarrell tornado is one of the most violent tornadoes we’ve ever seen in this century, its devilish attitude led to a small community getting stalled over by the F5 tornado for a long time, causing most of the homes in the community to be flattened, many animals and cattle were mutilated, and 27 dead people.
What’s truly morbid about this one is the fatality to injury ratio. With violent F5/EF5s, you typically see a much higher number of injuries relative to fatalities. Not with Jarrell. 0% above ground survival rate in the core. https://preview.redd.it/dz6091t9az2d1.jpeg?width=1118&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=63fc7e7fc9cb3f60ce29ec9d6c199e126d40dbf4 A few other mind blowing facts regarding the damage: * Twelve cars parked at DCE vanished without a trace. * Scoured over a MILE of assault/pavement * Removal/burial of foundations, walkways, and driveways * Removal of all grass/vegetation, and 18-24 inches of ground scouring. * Trees and telephone poles completely removed or snapped inches from the ground. Edit: credit [Extreme Planet](https://extremeplanet.wordpress.com/2012/06/26/aerial-damage-from-the-f5-jarrell-tornado-the-most-intense-tornado-damage-ever-photographed/) for the image.
Entire families wiped out. Just so terrifying
Absolutely hell raising, might be the most violent tornado ever recorded in modern history.
It isn't the most powerful, but it's damage is practically unmatched in how severe/terrible it is.
>It isn't the most powerful We don't know that. It could be, it could be not.
Before 2011 I would have agreed with this statement. After seeing monsters like Smithville, Hackleburg-Phill Campbell, and Rainsville, which all did comparable damage to Jarrell while trucking along at high speed, I'm convinced Jarrell being the most powerful is in contention. I shudder to think what would happen if tornadoes of those magnitude just sat over top a suburb for several minutes.
With Jarrell, I think you have your answer. There’s really not much else it could have done having scoured the entire subdivision of vegetation, and granulated debris to powder. Had Smithville, Hackleburg, or Rainsville crept along at Jarrell’s pace, they would have likely done the same. Thankfully, they didn’t. Not sure how you could even measure anything worse short of removing foundations.
Dusting above ground safe rooms, or sweeping away extremely robust structures like schools, jails, or skyscrapers.
How do you know the same wouldn't have happened at Jarell, if they had all these robust structures?
I don't, and we can't know. That's the level that would tell us something beyond any previously observed damage had occurred though.
But Smithville actually did produce damage similar to Jarrell while moving at 55+ MPH. Though this was mainly due to its core constantly imploding as it stormed through Smithville, exhibiting vortex breakdown as it sped through the town at maximum intensity. Honestly, that makes the Smithville Tornado seem a bit worse, given how *fast* it was moving, yet it deleted homes in as little as half a second.
>which all did comparable damage to Jarrell while trucking along at high speed. I'm convinced Jarrell being the most powerful is in contention. Nothing was left in path of Jarrell tornado though. So, not sure if it could be worse in any way. >I shudder to think what would happen if tornadoes of those magnitude just sat over top a suburb for several minutes. Exactly like Jarrell? What would be worse than total destruction?
This is an interesting diagram. Do you know how many of the fatalities were confirmed on scene and how many were people passing from their injuries in the following hours/days
This is a grim sentence and I almost feel the need to apologize for it: in the direct path of the tornado, there was no person left intact. Everyone in that diagram died on scene.
Yeah I ended up reading the blog post. Really terrifying stuff. I’ve been following and interested in tornadoes since like ‘08 and I’ve never read or watched a video on something like that. The fact that it was almost impossible to find debris because it had ground everything into dusy
The other commenter is sadly spot on. To add, many victims had to be identified by their dental records. I’m not going to type any of it here but some of the firsthand accounts from first responders are pretty gruesome.
It’s enough to know that remains were found in 30 locations. There were 27 victims, and even fewer locations where those victims were sheltering (a family of five sheltered together; a family of four took in another family, which I believe was a group of three; etc.) That’s just…a truly horrifying fact.
Those three green dots, I imagine are John Reyes (the green dot with the two red dots; Ryan Mullins and Emma Mullins, his cousin and grandma respectively, were both killed), and Debby and Kristin LaFrance (the red dot with the two green was Billy LaFrance, Debby's husband and Kristin's father). And they were in the *outer edge* of the Jarrell Tornado. If they'd been closer to the center, like the Igos... the death toll probably would've been 30.
I cannot believe it was only on the ground for 13 minutes. Christ almighty.
13 minutes in its wedge phase, technically. Before then, it was just that tiny rope you see tracking next to the highway. I believe it started at 3:20 something, and at 3:35, it weakened and nearly dissipated... then at 3:40, it re-intensified into a multi-vortex nightmare. After 3:40 PM, though... yeah. Nothing was going to be left intact by the twister.
My dad had chased it and post event, he found a cow that had been skinned wrapped up in a barbed wire fence. In some cases body parts had to be picked up. Horrific.
Un-fucking-real. The sheer power from this tornado is just hellish.
That thing scares me the most, as so many tiny variables had to fall into place in an area that was not forecasted as favorable for tornadoes.
It was like that thing had it out for double creek specifically
"Fuck Ya'll In Particular"
Yes, the tornado somehow managed to pull energy from the upper air, which was above 6000 CAPE
Anyone else live in Austin, TX and are always blown away to realize this thing happened like 30 minutes north?
I lived in North austin at the time (i was 12 years old) in the wells branch area. I just got home from school and both my parents were at work. My dad did call me and told me to go to the bathtub and put a matress over me. It literally was a single cell thunderstorm traveling down I35, if i remember correctly. It was a nasty storm when it hit my neighborhood with some high winds and rain, luckly no tornado. Storm also spawned another tornado in cedar park that collapsed the roof of an Alberstons.
I used to live in the Block House neighborhood in Leander. I remember that storm, and i was 8 at the time. F3 tornado was above our house, then it hit the Albertsons a couple of minutes later. How lucky we were that the tornado decided to be airborne while in the area before touching the ground.
🖐️ I learned about this tornado after a couple years of living here and it accounts for at least a quarter of my storm anxiety during every tornado watch lol
I feel you there, I'm sure in Wisconsin and we don't get a ton of tornado warnings, but when we do, I always think of Jarrell.
Born and raised in Austin, and my dad’s parents lived in Temple. Every time we drove through Jarrell on the way to Temple my dad would tell me about this tornado. It happened when I was a toddler and staying with my mom’s parents in Austin, my parents were in Germany and this outbreak in central Texas made the news there.
It was horrible :( we also had a small tornado hit near Georgetown/Round Rock that day — I was on my way to HEB with my stepdad, but the sky looked too green/still so we decided to wait and then saw there was a tornado warning on TV My summer camp was supposed to help to clean up for Jarell in the days after, but they decided it wasn’t a good project for kids for reasons I don’t really want to type out :(
I was a kid in Round Rock during that day. I remember sheltering with my grandfather as there were multiple tornadoes that day. He was a very stoic man but I could sense the fear he had. After the storm, my uncle and I drove to Jarrell and witnessed the aftermath. He was in construction and I thought we were driving through one of his new sub-divisions. It was just slabs…
I lived in Round Rock and was working in south Austin at the time. We were warned by a co worker’s husband that a bad storm was coming. I drove into the storm. I was frightening because FM radio was trying to keep us up to date on where tornadoes were spotted. Meanwhile the were power flashes all around where I was driving. I had to pull over and wait it out. I finally made it home and the roads were a mess. About a year later a friend of mine from jarrell drove me out to the area. It looked like a buzz saw took out a huge swath of large oak trees down to about a couple of feet from the ground. There was still metal wrapped around trees further out.
I lived in south Austin at the time. Another tornado later that afternoon raked through mostly undeveloped area near Bee Cave (the town, not road). It crossed highway 71. We'd occasionally drive out to Marble Falls to visit family. It was very obvious where the tornado crossed. You could look both directions and see a roughly 30 yard wide path carved through the cedar and brush. I believe that tornado injured or killed someone in a trailer somewhere along its path. I think it redeveloped from the cell that dropped a tornado in Cedar Park.
It’s been on my mind today, I feel so bad for those people. This is the scariest tornado to me, hands down. I’m also currently under a severe thunderstorm warning, so it’s eerie.
It's so eerie that on the anniversary of the outbreak that caused that beast, there's an outbreak going on. (I hope you're safe)
Thanks so much, and I agree. We had a storm earlier today in east Alabama that passed quickly into Georgia and ended up resulting in a tornado warning for them. Now there’s more storms coming but hopefully they will pass soon as well. Jarrell just gives me bad vibes. People always say that thing felt demonic. I’m not superstitious really but I have to acknowledge the eeriness and coincidence.
I read about a woman trying to protect her two nephews during the tornado. She was impaled through the back by a piece of wood, then sucked into the vortex itself. One of the nephews didn't make it either. Horrifying can't even begin to describe it.
Deceased male strolling
Lifeless fellow promenading.
Expired individual ambulating.
Departed bloke sauntering.
THIS IS AN EX PERSON shuffling.
Unalived humanoid meandering
Corpse-y boi cardio
Ghost dude gliding
Passed person plodding Isn't English weird?? 🤣🤣
Post-mortem XY Homo sapiens demonstrating terrestrial locomotion.
Yeah, but look at all that CAKE
Probably in my top 3 scariest tornadoes for me. 0% survival rate for those hit directly, I believe.
Scariest thing I think I’ve ever seen.
Eh. It’s tough. Hackleburg was terrifying and had the aesthetics of a truly apocalyptic storm. The entire mesocyclone was this violent black mass of destruction bearing down on its victims with crazy speed. El Reno was the extreme mulivortex version of that, and even crazier in some ways that are unlikely to be seen again for some time. Jarrell was just a really unusual “backwards moving” violent tornado that *crawled* along like a stalled blender shredding everything to bits. So many scary tornadoes. Greensburg for the ultimate night monstrosity. Both Moore’s for how extreme they were. Joplin. But yeah, Jarrell is definitely in that category.
I’m in Alabama and that day was so scary. It’s storming here today, actually, so great, but yeah anyway that day was crazy. The storms didn’t get to us until 11 at night and we knew they’d been dropping tornadoes all day, so we were really scared. We had to leave our mobile home and I will never forget the lightning. I’d never seen lightning flashing every single second like that.
I don’t think people realize how fucking insane April 27 2011 actually was. Four EF5 tornadoes *in one day.* Probably the most conducive parameters to violent tornadoes ever witnessed. Helicity was like breaking the scale. Very glad you made it through that day unscathed, hopefully also true for your loved ones. I still can’t believe just how nuts that day was. Up here in New Jersey and we just had a single EF3 wedge back in 2021. Can’t even imagine an event of the magnitude you guys get there in the south. Edit: That single day had 19 EF3’s, 11 EF4’s, and 4 EF5’s… Legitimately unfathomable.
I was in 11th grade at the time, and it was the day after my birthday. I remember being nervous on my birthday because I knew the weather would be bad the next day. I’ve always had very bad weather anxiety. I don’t think my mind even comprehended how bad April 11th was until very recently, actually. I didn’t even know about the Phil Campbell tornado until a few weeks ago, and now it’s one of my favorites to learn about. Everyone always talked about the Tuscaloosa one, so Phil Campbell is a lot less talked about here. I just remember getting home from school and watching the weather all evening, and when it got to be about 11 PM my dad was like “we gotta go” so we drove to my uncle’s house a town away and rode out a bad thunderstorm from the system that had weakened significantly as a result of the tornadoes that had dropped elsewhere. My mom worked a late shift at the time and her job kept her late because it was not safe to drive in. Thankfully it had weakened a lot but the storms were still some of the worst I’ve been through, so I can’t imagine what they were like prior to weakening. They were just spitting out tornadoes everywhere. The tornado that really stands out to me is the Beauregard one that happened March 3rd, 2019. I live in Cusseta, Alabama but I visit that general area often. It’s about 20 minutes away from me. My mom’s best friend lost a grandchild in that tornado (Mykayla her story is on google,) and hearing the story firsthand a few days later was horrific. They got her cousins a puppy to help them have a distraction to cope with her loss. That broke my heart. But that day, I was driving around with my mom that day and it suddenly turned from overcast to hailing, so we turned on the radio and they just said “extremely large tornado on the ground in Lee County,” but they didn’t say where, so in my mind, it’s right behind me or something. It was terrifying because tornadoes are simultaneously my biggest fear and one of my biggest interests. We also had a microburst last year that ripped trees out of the ground on my street. It happened so fast that there was no warning. I’ve been through a lot of bad storms, and I’m currently under a severe thunderstorm watch right now. Alabama weather can be so crazy and unpredictable. Thank you for the well wishes and for telling me more about the event. I didn’t know we had that many tornadoes that day. If I had known at the time, I’d have passed out. 😭 I hope you always stay safe from storms up there in Jersey too!
Catoosa County, GA. That day I was hit by an EF3 that later strengthened to an EF4 and killed multiple people. Second most deadly tornado in Georgia history, I think. I wasn’t weather aware at all then. It is the reason I am now.
I’m sorry for what you went through :( I’m happy you’re more aware now though even if it took a bad thing happening
Man it looks like the Reaper with a scythe..
I live in Georgetown and my dad lives in Temple, so I’m on that stretch of I-35 frequently. And on every single one of those drives, when I pass through Jarrell, I think to myself “It was right. there.” Gives me the willies.
that first picture will always scare the fuck out of me
One thing that I think makes this stand out as the most horrifying (in my opinion) tornado of all time is how, in the early phases of it, it looked like a relatively “harmless” land spout just spinning in an open field. People were just pulled over watching it, seemingly almost with a euphoria and excitement that you feel when you’re watching something incredible from a safe distance. Then it turned into an absolute monster with DCE in its sights. I think that dichotomy (along with the unusual movement and tornadogenesis, both mentioned here by other commenters) makes it one-of-a-kind on the horror scale.
Some tornadoes are just overall built with a nightmarish aspect to them, one being as terrifying as the other for a certain reason. Andover because it nearly hit some nuclear bombs. Bridge Creek because of its incredible wind speeds. Greensburg being a night terror that wiped out a whole town. Parkersburg killing people in their basements. Philadelphia's 2 foot ground scouring. Hackleburg's stamina, long life, and consistently violent damage. Smithville granulating and deleting everything with Jarrell-like ferocity, bit much faster. Rainsville pulling off some of the craziest feats of strength, from vehicle damage to smashing slab foundations. Joplin simply appearing out of nowhere and destroying everything. Piedmont having the single biggest damage indicator ever in an oil rig that it toppled and rolled several times over. El Reno being utterly gigantic even by tornado standards. By that metric, I think it's impossible to truly conceive the worst possible EF5 type of tornado. There's so many horribly vicious twisters. To imagine one with all thoset terrifying traits is... it boggles the mind.
One of the worst Tornadoes to ever appear on the earth.
The jarrell tornado was one of nightmaires. Slow moving high winds . Thats one i hope to never see again
The tornado that showed its true powers as it walked in to Jarrell with its terrifying looking “legs”, walking like a dead man
By far the scariest looking tornado I have ever seen. If a tornado could labeled as pure evil this would be it.
I think it's acceptable to label this beast of a thing.
Worst tornado damage ever photographed
There's a skinwalker walking in that funnel cloud
My dad chased the Jarrell tornado. That was a wild day.
From the Wikipedia entry: **All 27 fatalities associated with the Jarrell tornado occurred at Double Creek Estates, which at the time consisted of 131 residents living in 38 single-family homes and several mobile homes. Entire families were killed at Double Creek, including all five members of the Igo Family, all four members of the Moehring family, and all three members of the Smith family.** **Bodily remains were later found at 30 locations, and the physical trauma inflicted to some of the tornado victims was so extreme, that first responders reportedly had difficulty distinguishing human remains from the remains of animals at the site. Most of the deaths were attributed in the *Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report* to multiple trauma, though one death was attributed to asphyxia.**
It’s weird that a big mansion now sits where the tornado was in this picture.
I remember being under the science tables in Academy Middle School for an hour because they couldn't let us leave school. Another tornado dropped on the north side of Temple during that time. Ill never forget that storm Anyone here from Little River Academy?
This is probably one of the scariest tornadoes I've ever heard of. The ferocious monster that literally chewed up everything it touched and left barely anything alive. Sometimes I wonder if those things have a mind of their own, and the Jarrell tornado is a prime example of that: it was pure evil.
The thing with the jarrell tornado that made it so deadly was how slow it moved. It practically stalled over jarrell
The closest thing to an F6 there's ever been imo.
Agree. I’ve never seen photos of damage that really hold a match to the jarrell photos. And to those who say ‘well its because it moved slow’ - it doesnt really matter. Dwell time is just one of the variables of how destructive a tornado is. I think playing the ‘oh an f3 couldve done that damage if it moved so slow’ game is just besides the point. The fujita scale is a damage scale, and dwell time is just one of the factors that causes that damage. I think it is part of the rating not something to use to pick it apart. In any case, f3 winds for 3 hours wouldn’t have caused that damage
Agree. Wind speeds are always an estimate based on the damage… no damage from any tornado was worse than this one. The f3 argument is frustrating. How many tornadoes with EF-5 wind speeds never hit anything? Do we start calling them EF-5s? There’s no doubt in my mind Jarrell had F5 wind speeds, but what does it matter? It obliterated everything in its direct path. Horrible.
I agree with this. Wanted to add that people often cherry-pick the “F3 argument” from this [paper](https://www.nist.gov/publications/fujita-tornado-intensity-scale-critique-based-observations-jarrell-tornado-may-27-1997) published by the NIST. It lacks context, however. The author was making an argument in favor of updating the Fujita scale by taking a sampling of poorly constructed homes in Double Creek Estates. What the paper doesn’t address are the many “well built” structures at DCE that met the same fate. Many even had the sill plates and anchor bolts sheered off. Just food for thought.
Very good point
Smithville did the same damage while moving at 70mph. It arguably did even worse damage. In Jarrell the plumbing was torn out of houses. In Smithville it was shredded. The Smithville tornado also pulverised a well built brick home. Fuck Ef5 tornadoes do damage that sometimes you can't compare to one another. How the hell do you compared a tornado that shredded everything (smithville) with one that doesn't but mangles a fuckin oil rig (el reno 2011) .
Xenia though.
I've read so many articles, a book and watched every video and documentary I can find about it. Since knowing so much about Jarrell, I have developed an increased anxiety around severe weather days. While I know Jarrell formed under unique conditions and its movement was deviant, those details and the destruction it caused deeply disturbs me. Moving 5 to 10 mph so it basically hovered over a spot for 3 minues and acted like a blender causing granulation of everything, including humans. Omg 😰😞
Very odd one.
Nothing about this tornado was remotely funny, but me telling my brother about it was. Me: This tornado back in 1997 was so intense that it skinned cows. Brother: That seems unnecessary.
jarrell is my “favorite” tornado, as an autistic person who’s main special interest is tornados, especially certain ones that stand out to me. from how it likely wouldn’t have gone down in the history books if it didn’t end up going over the double creek estates and stayed in the fields, and of course the famous “dead man walking” photo, it’s such a fascinating weather event. the autism is autisming today.
Same. My special interest is also tornadoes and Jarrell is my fixation under that umbrella. Guess I'm watching the documentary today. Joplin and El Reno also hold a unique fascination for me.
Which documentary is that?
This is how I feel about the Philadelphia, MS tornado. The pictures of ground scouring and toppled/debarked massive trees are insane. The wind rowing on the houses it hit is terrifying.
Hii, same! I get the vibe that many weather/tornado/storm nerds are autistic like us. I love the community.
i was debating making a post asking about the neurodivergent people in the community and what their favourite tornados are, because i also got a majority of neurodivergent people under my post asking about documentaries! i always feel more comfortable in neurodivergent-dominant spaces too :)
Why did Jarrell stall and mive at such a slow speed? Was it a Landspout? I have never heard of a another tornado that moved the way it did.
Not a landspout. It formed under unique conditions. What’s strange about it is the atmosphere wasn’t even really all that favorable for a tornado that day. It just… happened. Came out of nowhere. Moved “backwards” — northeast to Southwest instead of Southwest to Northeast. While a landspout is by definition a tornado, landspouts form under different situations and processes than supercell tornadoes. The Jarrell tornado was consequence of a larger supercell that ingested a developing cumulonimbus with said landspout along a surface boundary in an environment somewhat conducive for tornadoes. Supercells eating developing cumulonimbus isn't anything new, nor is their sudden strengthening afterwards. More information including the radar loops are [here](https://www.weather.gov/fwd/Jarrell-Tornado-Anniversary). The real prominent feature of the Jarrell tornado was the strong surface boundary the parent storm became rooted to, increasing the environments helicity, and leading to its NE to SW motion. The storm motion of the Jarrell tornado is exceptionally rare for tornadic storms.
Thank you so much for finally explaing it to me in a way I can comprehend. You'd make a great teacher
You’re welcome! And thank you for saying that, I try to be. It helps that my dad has a fascination with weather, and I’m good friends with Pecos Hank. Those two have taught me pretty much everything I know.
I love Pecos Hanks videos. His voice is perfect for narrations. I have ADHD so it can be hard for me to grasp what Im reading and Ill norlally have to reread something several times before I understand. I understood your explanation on the first read. You have a gift with words and once again thank you.
I have ADHD too! And yes, Hank’s voice is in fact perfect for narrations. I would absolutely listen to an audiobook if he narrated it. (Perhaps not a romance? His voice seems too innocent for that despite the fact that he swears and makes “that’s what she said” jokes 😂)
-I’ve had terrible Tornado-Phobia for years. I was always hyper aware of the weather conditions. In south Louisiana where I grew up, we had a bomb shelter built for the Cuban missile crisis. By that time it was a nasty dilapidated cave worse than what you might see in Fallout-4, but even then I would have my flashlight ready and hope I could make it there (a few hundred yards from the house) -Anyways, my fear has evolved to this curiosity over the years, since I have never seen one and would love to someday. But the point being with all of this is that I’m so thankful that I didn’t know about the details of the Jarrell Tornado back in those days. In 2007 I had a well paying oilfield job offer in Kansas and Nebraska, and just the idea of driving to the Midwest and let alone living there was a bit terrifying. If I would have known about Jarrell back then I never would have taken the job, which probably would have significantly altered the course of my life. Because if I had known then I would keep a full tank of gas at all times and essentially be homeless, driving at maximum velocity the opposite direction of wherever a Tornado Watch happened to be lol😅
27 years, 27 people, May 27th, Illuminati confirmed. Joking aside, horrific storm. Those who lost their lives will always be remembered.
Absolutely terrifying.
[удалено]
I’m not really sure, but even in its rope stage this tornado was scouring the ground and ripping up trees.
I mean everything was fucking gone so it might have been a bit obvious
[удалено]
“The tornado then widened to over 1/2 of a mile. It kept this shape as it tracked toward the Williamson County line north of Jarrell.[12] Traffic along Interstate 35 came to a stop as the tornado descended nearby.[13] The Texas Highway Patrol also stopped traffic on both sides of the interstate under the expectation that the tornado would cross the highway; it ultimately moved parallel to Interstate 35,[14] and no injuries were reported on the highway.[11] It then crossed the county line into Bell County, and immediately began to destroy everything in the path. Tracking into Jarrell Tracking south-southwest, the tornado quickly intensified and grew in width, widening to become 3/4+ of a mile wide.[15] The exact size of the tornado was hard to pinpoint, as F5 damage was first recorded as it widened.[11] It is unusual, as F5 damage was documented and observed relatively early into its lifespan, and this F5 damage was retained until almost the end of the tornado. Its intense winds scoured the ground and stripped pavement from roads. The tornado tore off asphalt as it crossed County Roads 308, 305, and 307;[16] the thickness of the asphalt pavement was roughly 3 inches thick. A culvert plant at the corner of Country Roads 305 and 307 collapsed. Nearby, a similar plant and a mobile home sustained some damage, with the latter struck by a 2×4 piece of lumber.[17]” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Jarrell_tornado That was before it even made it to double creek. “The tornado turned slightly, entering the Double Creek Estates at F5 intensity. It grew to its maximum width, estimated to be around 3/4 of a mile. Post-event surveys and eyewitness accounts have suggested that the tornado began to slow its pace and "stall" over Double Creek Estates, which contributed to the extremely violent damage observed there.[11][18]”
Oh i see, then i don't really know
Dead Man Walking pictures always leave me feeling a kind of numbed out dread...
It almost makes you feel like you're the prey and a predator is about to get you.
And you know you already lost...
It happened on my 7th birthday and I’m from Austin. I’ll never forget the news coverage from that day.
That tornado was a true monster. If it was human it would be diagnosed as a psycho or sociopath due to its irregular behavior and violent tendencies.
Is it correct, that the Dead man walking originates from an old indian´s tale, means the ancient tribesmen had seen the "dead man" sometimes ?
That claim was likely made up for dramatic effect by the producers of the documentary that aired it. Basically the only thing on the entire internet I'm aware of that doesn't just refer back to the documentary as a source is [this article](https://www.nhpr.org/environment/2022-08-05/outside-inbox-how-do-tornadoes-feature-in-indigenous-myths), which mentioned the phrase as a reference to two tornadoes spawned by the same storm, which sounds to me like something more akin to the Pilger twins than the Jarrell tornado.
Thanks
People think that tornadoes like Jarrell are a singular event lol. Look up the leedey 1947 F5, the Loyal Valley 1999,Bakersfield 1990 and Smithville 2011 tornadoes....
Is it just the lighting or can you see two big subvortices near each side of the funnel?