1997 F5 tornado
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On May 27, 1997, a large and slow-moving F5 tornado caused catastrophic damage across portions of the Jarrell, Texas area. The tornado killed 27 residents of the town, mainly in a single subdivision, and inflicted approximately $40 million (1997 USD) in damages in its 13-minute, track. It occurred as part of a tornado outbreak across central Texas; it was produced by a supercell that had developed from an unstable airmass and favorable meteorological conditions at the time, including high convective available potential energy (CAPE) values and warm dewpoints.
Several weaker tornadoes prior to the Jarrell tornado touched down and inflicted damage in nearby areas, particularly in Travis and Williamson counties. The Fort Worth branch of the National Weather Service issued several tornado watches and warnings as a result, and later issued a tornado warning for the area encompassing Jarrell as the tornado-producing supercell approached the town. Shortly thereafter, within the Williamson County line, the tornado first touched down as a small rope-shaped funnel before it changed into larger multi-vortex tornado cloaked in dust, which then strengthened rapidly as its width grew. As the tornado moved through a neighborhood near Jarrell, it began to slow down, before almost stopping completely over the area while reaching its maximum width and producing violent F5-level winds. The tornado stalled over the neighborhood for approximately 3 minutes, producing some of the most extreme tornadic wind damage ever recorded. As the tornado left the subdivision, it began to weaken, before dissipating in a forested area. In total 27 residents of Jarrell, as well as hundreds of cattle, were killed. The tornado left behind a path of devastation, including many houses and buildings that were cleanly swept from their foundations.
As of 2025, this tornado is Texas' most recent F5 or EF5 tornado. The tornado was the fourth-deadliest of the 1990s in the United States, only being surpassed by the 1990 Plainfield tornado that killed 29, the 1998 Birmingham tornado that killed 32, and the 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado that killed 36. It was the only F5 tornado of 1997, and the next F5-rated tornado would occur on April 8 of the following year.
Meteorological synopsis.
On the morning of May 27, 1997, an upper-level low-pressure area located over portions of South Dakota and Nebraska had moved northward which caused a weak, mid-level flow across Texas. While this occurred, a cold front extended southwest of a surface-based low-pressure area from Fayetteville, Arkansas to the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex (DFW) to the Permian Basin, which also included two decaying outflow boundaries northeast of the DFW metroplex. A gravity wave was also noted from the cold front near Waco, Texas and southward, which would promote initiation of supercells, including the one which produced the Jarrell tornado. The latter two factors were caused by an overnight mesoscale convective system which had dissipated before the mesoscale setup of the Jarrell tornado.
An upper-air balloon sounding was conducted by the National Weather Service in Fort Worth while the cold front passed directly over the DFW metroplex, which showed favorable mid-level lapse rates, a dewpoint temperature of on the surface, and some wind shear, though not towards the surface, which suggested non-tornadic supercell activity. However, a sounding launched from Calvert, Texas a few hours later revealed surface-based convective available potential energy (CAPE) values above 6500 j/kg, up from 3000 j/kg shown by the sounding previously launched over the DFW metroplex. This, along with extremely high CAPE values shown near the surface from a sounding over Waco at 12:00 CDT (17:00 UTC), likely caused vorticity near and along the cold front and the production of the Jarrell tornado.
The supercell that produced the Jarrell tornado first developed in McLennan County before noon, initially moving slowly southwestward in the unstable airmass. Shortly thereafter, a tornado watch was issued by the Storm Prediction Center for eastern Texas and western Louisiana. As the thunderstorm cell moved parallel to Interstate 35, it rapidly intensified and prompted the issuance of a severe thunderstorm warning for portions of McLennan County at 12:50 CDT (17:50 UTC), later being upgraded to a tornado warning as the supercell then began to rapidly exhibit lower-levels of rotation. This would result in multiple tornadoes being produced before the Jarrell tornado occurred; most notably an F3 tornado which caused severe damage in portions of Falls County near Bruceville-Eddy and Lake Belton. Another tornado, rated an F0, touched down near Stillhouse Dam and was incorrectly claimed as the Jarrell tornado due to its close proximity from the F5 tornado's path.
Shortly thereafter, the supercell began to move slightly westward towards Jarrell and Salado while continuing to show signs of rapid, low-level rotation. This would result in another tornado warning being issued by the National Weather Service in Austin/San Antonio for Williamson County, including Jarrell, at 15:30 CDT (22:30 UTC), in response to the storm's approach to the town. The warning was in effect for a duration of one hour, and local warning sirens in the town went off an estimated 10–12 minutes before the impact. Multiple short-lived, small, and rope-like funnel clouds preceded the Jarrell tornado; and despite being theorized and commonly accepted as being separate tornadoes, there is a possibility that these were part of it. Additionally, some reports stated an F1 tornado near Prairie Dell as an earlier continuation of this tornado.
Tornado summary.
The tornado officially touched down within the Williamson County line north of Jarrell as a narrow rope tornado at 3:40 pm CDT (20:40 UTC). The tornado began to undergo a rapid intensification as the rope-shaped funnel began to morph and widen into multi-vortex structure. Traffic along Interstate 35 came to a stop as the tornado came into view nearby; the Texas Highway Patrol also stopped traffic on both sides of the interstate under the expectation that the tornado would cross the highway. However, it instead moved parallel to Interstate 35 without impacting the roadway.
Tracking south-southwest, the tornado quickly intensified and grew in width, becoming large and violent. The exact size of the tornado was difficult to determine during this portion of the tornado's life. Its intense winds scoured the ground, shredded vegetation, and stripped pavement from three county roads; the thickness of the asphalt pavement was estimated to be . A culvert plant near the intersection of two county roads collapsed. Nearby, a similar plant and a mobile home sustained some damage, with the latter struck by a 2×4" piece of lumber. Some of the most extreme damage in this area was inflicted to a small metal-framed recycling plant that was directly hit and obliterated, with only the foundation and a few twisted and bent metal beams remaining. Multiple people were sheltering in a mobile home south of the recycling plant, but later decided to evacuate to a frame house to take cover. The frame house was directly hit and completely destroyed by the tornado moments later, killing everyone inside, while the mobile home was only sideswiped by the tornado and sustained minor damage.
The tornado turned slightly, entering the Double Creek Estates at violent F5 intensity. It grew to its maximum width, estimated to be . Post-event surveys and eyewitness accounts reported that the tornado began to significantly slow its forward movement, essentially stalling as it entered the neighborhood. The tornado immediately began to destroy structures and homes as it hit multiple streets at the northeastern edge of the housing development. A recovered clock and synced videos marked the start of the tornado's impact on the subdivision at 3:48 pm. The entirety of Double Creek Estates was subject to extreme winds for three minutes due to the very slow forward movement of the tornado, which likely contributed to the extreme nature of the damage. Numerous homes on Double Creek Drive and in other parts of the subdivision were completely swept away, leaving only bare concrete foundation slabs behind, and the remaining foundations of several homes in the direct path of the tornado had their plumbing and sill plates ripped away. In the hardest hit areas of Double Creek Estates, homes were so thoroughly obliterated that there was virtually no recoverable debris left behind, and what debris was left had been finely granulated into small fragments and dispersed over a wide area. Grass was completely scoured from lawns throughout the neighborhood, and nearby grassy fields also sustained extreme ground scouring of up to in depth, leaving behind a wide swath of mud and bare soil. As a result this, the tornado's damage path was heavily studied due to its visibility from the extensive ground scouring. Additionally, the tornado lofted and threw numerous vehicles at Double Creek Estates, which were either mangled beyond recognition or torn apart. At least six hardly recognizable cars were found over away, completely crushed and left caked in mud and scoured grass. Several other vehicles were never recovered, and are presumed to have been torn into numerous pieces inside the tornado. Trees of all sizes in the subdivision were completely debarked, with one small tree documented to have had an electrical cord pierced through its trunk. There were 38 structures in Double Creek Estates that were destroyed; three businesses adjacent to the neighborhood were also completely demolished. In total, the tornado dealt $10–20 million (1997 USD) in damage to Double Creek Estates.
After exiting the Double Creek Estates area, the tornado then crossed over a county road while paralleling Spears Ranch Road. The damage in these outlying areas was sporadic: in one case, a mobile home suffered only minor damage while an adjacent house lost its roof and several exterior walls. After continuing into a cedar tree forest, it began to rapidly weaken, crossing over Appaloosa Cove Road before dissipating. The National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) concluded that it had lifted at 3:53 pm, remaining on the ground for 13 minutes and traversing .
"Dead man walking" photograph.
The Jarrell tornado was the subject of a well-known photograph, now known as the "Dead Man Walking". It was taken by Scott Beckwith, and the picture became known for its resemblance to the grim reaper, a figure that commonly represents death in several cultures.
The image consists of the tornado, shrouded in debris, with the main vortex and an adjacent subvortex making "leg" shapes near the bottom of the tornado, giving it the appearance of a giant silhouette walking across the ground. A third subvortex separate from the main funnel is also seen. The image, which is just one in a sequence of 8 photographs taken as the tornado grew in size, has been widely called an example of pareidolia.
The photo has received international attention and the Jarrell tornado has popularized the "Dead Man Walking" nickname for similar multi-vortex tornadoes with "legs".
Impact and casualties.
The tornado overall resulted in the total destruction of numerous homes and structures, and destroyed an estimated 40 family residences. Of these estimated 40 homes, most of them were completely swept away. Many of the structures that were swept away were located in the Double Creek Estates. The damage from the tornado was classified as F5 severity throughout most of the tornado's path. Approximately $40 million in damage was inflicted upon property with another $100,000 (1997 USD) inflicted upon crops.Out of the 131 residents who lived in or near Double Creek Estates, 31 were initially believed to have been killed, but that number was lowered to 27. The remains of these people were found at over 30 locations, and the majority of the deaths were reported in the "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report" as being caused by bodily and head trauma and one fatality was reported to have been caused by asphyxia. Bodily remains were later found at 30 locations, and the physical trauma inflicted on some of the tornado victims was so extreme that first responders reportedly had difficulty distinguishing human remains from the remains of animals at the sites, as the remains were reportedly torn apart and rendered unrecognizable in the winds of the tornado. The sheer strength and intensity of the tornado, as it was in Jarrell, gave the people in its direct path little time to get to safety. Most of the homes that were located in Double Creek Estates at the time were constructed on a slab foundation and lacked basements. Up to nineteen people had sought refuge in a single storm cellar. Many residents of the Double Creek Estates had