1997 Central Texas tornado outbreak

1997 Central Texas tornado outbreak

WSR-88D radar imagery of storms across Central Texas at 3:40 pm CDT[a] on May 27, 1997
Type	Tornado outbreak
Duration	May 27, 1997
Highest gust	≥261 mph (420 km/h) (F5 Jarrell tornado),[b] 122 mph (196 km/h) (straight-line winds; Kelly Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas)
Tornadoes confirmed	20 confirmed
Max. rating1	F5 tornado
Duration of tornado outbreak2	7 hours, 2 minutes
Largest hail	4.50 in (114 mm) (Bell and Falls counties)[2]: 197
Fatalities	30 fatalities (28 tornado-related), 33 hospitalizations[3]
Damage	$126.6 million (1997 USD)[c]
Power outages	≥ 81,000 electricity customers
Areas affected	Central Texas
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale 2Time from first tornado to last tornado

A deadly tornado outbreak occurred in Central Texas during the afternoon and evening of May 27, 1997, in conjunction with a southwestward-moving cluster of supercell thunderstorms. These storms produced 20 tornadoes, mainly along the Interstate 35 corridor from northeast of Waco to north of San Antonio. The strongest tornado was an F5 tornado that leveled parts of Jarrell, killing 27 people and injuring 12 others. Overall, 30 people were killed and 33 others were hospitalized by the severe weather.

Although the atmospheric conditions enabling the event were forecast to be conducive for strong winds and large hail, forecasters did not initially anticipate as much of a risk of strong tornadoes due to the lack of substantial wind shear over the region. Instead, the coalescence of several weather features—including a cold front, a dry line, and a gravity wave—provided locally favorable conditions for rotating thunderstorms and the formation of tornadoes. This peculiar evolution led to the unusual southwestward motion of the storms and the tornadoes they produced.

A tornado watch was first issued at 12:54 p.m.^[a] on May 27 for portions of East Texas and western Louisiana; the first tornado touched down at 1:21 p.m. in McLennan County while the final tornado lifted at 8:23 p.m. later that day in Frio County. The 20 tornadoes collectively inflicted at least $126.6 million in damage. The F5 Jarrell tornado was the outbreak's most powerful and deadliest tornado. It destroyed most of the 38-home Double Creek Estates subdivision west of Jarrell where the most extreme damage occurred. Residences were completely dismantled, swept away, and reduced to a concrete slab, while trees in the area were completely shredded and debarked. Fields were scoured to a depth of 18 in (460 mm) and asphalt was torn from roads. Due to the tornado's intensity, the debris was often small in size and beyond recognition. There were four other tornadoes rated F3 or higher. One F3 tornado moved across Cedar Park, damaging parts of the business district and numerous homes in nearby neighborhoods. An F4 tornado struck areas near Lake Travis and caused one fatality. In addition to the tornadoes, the storms also produced large hail and strong straight-line winds; Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio recorded a 122 mph (196 km/h) wind gust.

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