Counterclockwise from top: The rapidly intensifying tornado, the radar scan showing the tornado, an aerial view of the tornado track at Double Creek Estates and a mangled car in Jarrell | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | May 27, 1997, 3:40 pm. CDT (UTC−05:00) |
| Dissipated | May 27, 1997, 3:53 pm. CDT (UTC−05:00) |
| Duration | 13 minutes |
| F5 tornado | |
| on the Fujita scale | |
| Highest winds | >261 mph (420 km/h) |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 27 |
| Injuries | 12 |
| Damage | $40.1 million (1997 USD) |
| Areas affected | Jarrell, Texas and areas near Prairie Dell, Texas |
Part of the 1997 Central Texas tornado outbreak and tornadoes of 1997 | |
In the afternoon hours of May 27, 1997, an extremely violent and destructive F5 tornado tore through the community of Jarrell, Texas, killing 27 people and injuring a further 12.[1] The tornado caused $40.1 million (1997 USD) in damages, and was the subject of multiple well-known photographs, earning the tornado the nickname of "the Dead Man Walking tornado".[2]
The multiple-vortex tornado stalled over the Double Creek Estates housing subdivision for approximately 3 minutes at high-end F5 strength, causing arguably some of the most severe tornado damage ever recorded. NIST Studies on the tornado have been conducted in the years and decades after the event.[3]
Although the tornado was never officially given an official windspeed, it was estimated to be over 261 miles per hour (420 km/h).[4] As of 2024, this tornado is Texas' most recent F5 or EF5 tornado.[5]
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 also the only F5 tornado of 1997, and the next F5 would occur on April 8 of the following year.
- ^ Osborn, Claire; Easterly, Greg; Ward, Pamela (May 28, 1997). "Nearly destroyed in '89, Jarrell is slammed again". Austin American-Statesman. Austin, Texas. pp. A1, A10. Retrieved April 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Patterson, Kaley PattersonKaley (2024-04-15). "Ever Heard of the 'Dead Man Walking' Tornado?". KLAW 101. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
- ^ "'Hold on tight': 25 years since the Jarrell, TX tornado outbreak". KXAN Austin. 2022-05-23. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
- ^ "Corfidi's Jarrell paper (19th SLSC)". www.spc.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
- ^ Texas Event Report: F5 Tornado. Storm Events Database (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
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