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. Official language(s) English (de facto) See also languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (261,797 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... May 27 is the 147th day (148th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 218 days remaining. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Fujita scale (F-Scale), or Fujita-Pearson scale, rates a tornados intensity by the damage it inflicts on human-built structures and sometimes on vegetation. ... Jarrell is a town located in Williamson County, Texas. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ...

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. Bell County is a county located in the state of Texas. ... Interstate 35 is an interstate highway in the central United States. ... Williamson County is a county located in the state of Texas. ...

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 Fujita scale (F-Scale), or Fujita-Pearson scale, rates a tornados intensity by the damage it inflicts on human-built structures and sometimes on vegetation. ... COW is an acronym for a number of things: Can of worms The COW programming language, an esoteric programming language. ...

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. An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Base layer of asphalt concrete in a road under construction. ...

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

Note: Unable to edit initial information, but the Jarrell Texas tornado was infact the fourth deadliest tornado of the 1990's, topped only by the 1999 Oklahoma City tornado (36 deaths), the 1998 Birmingham Alabama tornado (32 deaths) and the 1990 Plainfield, Illinois tornado] (29 deaths). All of the aformentioned tornados were rated at F-5 The Village of Plainfield is a municipality located in Will County, Illinois. ...

Damage

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. Look up ton in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

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 called out on the radio that the tornado had not seemed to have produced any damage. He was 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. Williamson County is a county located in the state of Texas. ...

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) April 8 is the 98th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (99th in leap years). ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ... Nickname: The Magic City, Pittsburgh of the South, BHam, The Ham Location in Jefferson County in the state of Alabama Coordinates: Country United States State Alabama County Jefferson, Shelby  - Mayor Bernard Kincaid (D) Area    - City  151. ... The Birmingham Tornado was the tornado event that occurred on April 8, 1998. ...

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 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 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 occurrence. This Interstate Highway article needs to be cleaned up to conform to both a higher standard of article quality and accepted design standards outlined in the WikiProject U.S. Interstate Highways. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ...

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.

Related damage

The Jarrell Tornado was the worst in a line of tornadoes associated with a single severe thunderstorm system. Official language(s) English (de facto) See also languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (261,797 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... Travis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. ... Williamson County is a county located in the state of Texas. ...

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. Cedar Park is a city located in Williamson County Texas. ... A typical Albertsons store. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into refrigeration. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

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. Nickname: Live Music Capital of the World Location in the state of Texas Coordinates: Country United States State Texas County Travis County Government  - Mayor Will Wynn Area  - City  258. ... Travis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. ...

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). Frio County is a county located in the state of Texas. ... Del Rio is a city located in Val Verde County, Texas, United States. ...

See also

• List of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks

// Tornado Events These are some notable tornadoes, tornado outbreaks, and tornado outbreak sequences that have occurred around the globe. ...

Sources

• National Weather Service Assessment (PDF)
• Summary of Weather Event of May 27, 1997 (NWS)
• Aerial Damage Survey of the Central Texas Tornadoes of May 27, 1997 (PDF) (National Weather Service), includes discussion and map of the tornado's track
• Texas Tornadoes (National Climatic Data Center)
• NWS Service Assessment
• Satellite imagery (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
• Highway Overpasses as Tornado Shelters (NWS)
• Storm chaser Lon Curtis's chase log of the event
• Video clip of the Jarrell tornado