Jarrell Texas Tornado Raw News Footage

[AJTwister97]

also, there is a rumor that there is footage of the three funnels morphing

[AJTwister97]

this tornado was 3/4 of a mile wide with forward speeds comparable to a normal walking speed. add those 2 statistics together and the tornado was over a given location for at least 3-4 minutes! holy crap!

[TheKilljoy77]

I'm looking for a TV special. It aired on TLC in 2000 I believe, it was about the 1997 Jarrell, Texas tornado. I've searched and searched and can't find any info about this special even existing.

[whiteexplorerfan13]

@TheKilljoy77 I'm looking for it too... I used to have it on VHS along with a few other TLC docs from that period on tornadoes... I played the tape so much when I was young I wore it out and it snapped. :(

[21bopop]

That tornado is skinnier then a stick

[tren979797]

I cant find any videos of the Jarrel f5 tornado in it's mature state...any out there?

[Cellmate412162]

@tren979797 Search "Jarrell, Texas EF-5 Wedge Tornado - May 27, 1997". It's finally uploaded.

[CujoOnAcid]

To see a longer version of this video, do a Google search for Kris Davis-Jones eyewitness account.

[414pwz]

Why in the wrold does the film stop?

[gigan1234]

thats a f0

[wiiluigi1998]

i cant believe this was a F5

[adamania]

@wiiluigi1998 Use your brain.

[GOODY61]

Too bad the news crew did not film just a few minutes longer and caught the development of the f5.

[jmeier37]

Great footage of a hellish tornado after maturation.

[marturion1]

This storm was similar to the Waco tornado of 1953: both began as pencil-like funnels and developed into half-mile wide wedges....

[marturion1]

This storm intensified almost instantaneously, with a reported 3 funnels converging. There are pictures of the maturation state where you can see multiple vortices inside the main funnel--what native Americans refer to as "dead man walking." Considering the devastation left in its swath, it may have been the most powerful tornado in US history.

[ILovestorms]

This tornado moved south-southwest paralel to Interstate 35, unlike most tornadoes, which move from southwest to northeast.

[MusIc4lif3333]

I actually live about 30 minutes away from Jarrell and I remember my sister was on a field trip in Jarrell and she actually got to see the outside of the storm from the bus:O

[atkinsgina]

1-35 hasent changed that much

[DarkFilmDirector]

Are we positive that this was actually the vortex that hit Jarrell? There were a string of tornadoes that day around that whole area. If I'm not mistaken, there were eyewitnesses of at least two other tornadoes landing within its vicinity but never reaching populated areas.

My dad witnessed the Jarrell tornado as he was just happening along I-35. This does match his description of a tiny, pencil funnel, he said not a couple minutes went by when he watched two more funnels drop down circling it.

[cbehr91]

@DarkFilmDirector Absolutely positve. As others have said (and as I remember seeing on TV), this tornado touched down as a small, rope-like tornado and sort of "morphed" into a large, destructive wedge.

[EasilyWowed]

I saw a follow-up documentary about the aftermath: one of the saddest things I have ever seen.

[ultradumbass]

i bet the news reporters would not have been rehearsing themselves in front of the tornado if they knew how deadly it would become.

[tudssquadbuisness]

If this was an f5 it must of been at the dissipating rope stage.

[cbehr91]

@tudssquadbuisness No, it was an F5 during it's mature state. It's in its organizing state in this video.

[tudssquadbuisness]

@cbehr91 I just noticed it said that in the subscription. I didn't take time to read it, heh.

[drhea2011]

@cbehr91 i am from jarrell and this is how it started...soon joined by 3 more. it was a nightmare.....i knew everyone who mdied that day.....any time thereis a chance of bad weather i start freaking out...the tornado has scarred me for life. i was 17 that day and i still have nightmares

[marturion1]

This funnel roped out briefly, then morphed into an F5 right before it smashed into Double Creek Estates with 3 distinct vortices converging--something the Native Americans refer to as "The Dead Man Walking"....

[NewMadrid01]

I heard 3 or 4 total touched down and combined together ...

[gpciie]

They didn't stop and watch the storm. State troopers stupidly stopped traffic on I-35 to allow the tornado to cross the highway. If the storm had taken an unexpected turn in direction, those cars stacked up on the highway would have been sitting ducks.

[ColonelAngus75]

The supplemental video to "Secrets of the Tornado" has extra footage of this with no narration and shows it after it became a wedge.

[vfIskullangel]

I can't believe that fucking thing grew to be an F-5

[StraightouttaHouston]

she cold

[1z1q]

I remember in the aftermath of the Tornado that a personal Check was found embedded in a Cactus for crying out loud.. and where the Tornado passed over the road there was huge chunks of Asphalt ripped from the ground.. Incredible !

[TheMightykaz]

@1z1q prob strongest known f5 in history in terms of damage.

[GOODY61]

@1z1q Also one of the NWS employees who assessed the damage stated 18 inches of earth was plowed in the tornado path. I have never heard those terms used in any damage reports from other F5 or EF5 tornado reports.

[viper100200]

@GOODY61 You may be interested in seeing this video then copy "Philadelphia, MS EF5 Tornado Damage" in your youtube search and it will be the first video that comes up. it is the after math of one of the EF5's that hit earlier this year. At the end of the video you can see someone get down into the trench created by the tornado and it looks fairly deep.

[GreatestWR]

wow! our track meet was just yesterday and no wonder everything looked so new the track and stands everything. but im glad they r back in after a tornado left them wit nothing

[thillwl]

I had just left Austin and had passed near Jarrell just an hour or so before the tornado hit.

[MyPilotman]

i was near the jarell tx twister that hit on may 27th 1997 this storm was the most incredible storm i have ever been involved with so this storm ruined my life and it took a piece of my life because it took my home in butter cup creek i will get revenge on this storm and i am waiting for this storm to come back when it does i'm gonna be ready and i'm gonna catch it on film

[CROUELLETTE]

wasnt this storm a f5 it looked small when it started didnt it start as a landspout maybe thats why it was small at the beginning trust me it was a huge wedge tornado by the time it was a f5

[cbehr91]

This indeed was an F5 wedge. It was small when it touched down and then grew.

[dragonridley]

@cbehr91

I thought the maximum path width on this was 100 yards.

[TheMightykaz]

@dragonridley try 3/4 a mile wide when it hit it's peak. Prob the worst f5 in history. People were literally were never found. Torn to nothing.

[dragonridley]

@TheMightykaz

Worst F5 in history?

In terms of death toll, would be the 1925 Tri-State tornado, 695 dead (vs. 27 from this)

In terms of damage that would go to the 1966 Topeka, Kansas tornado, $1.6 billion in damage (vs. $125 million from this).

As to you other comments: nothing left but the slab of a house is pretty much what defines an F5. The F6 category was never used in practice.

[TheMightykaz]

@dragonridley always some idiot has to comment. In terms of intensity! About 40 structures were completely destroyed by the tornado and dozens of vehicles were lifted in the air and tossed, some thrown more than half a mile. Many researchers, after reviewing aerial damage photographs of Double Creek Estates, considered the Jarrell storm to be the most violent tornado, in terms of damage intensity, that they had ever seen.

[dragonridley]

@TheMightykaz

Perhaps in terms of intensity yes, and that amount of damage is devastating, I agree there. So I agree that this was a truly monstrous tornado.

[TheMightykaz]

@dragonridley

Most of the homes in the tornadoes path were well-constructed and bolted to their foundations, but even so the tornado left only the slab foundations.[5] Several entire families were killed in the tornado, including all five members of the Igo family and all four members of the Moehring family. Grass and soil in fields near Jarrell were ripped out of the ground to a depth of 18 in (46 cm). When the tornado crossed county roads it tore a 500-foot length of asphalt from the roads.

[Torn80cj]

It was never a landspout. A landspout is a type 2 tornado that is formed without a mesocyclone. This Jarrell tornado was spawnded from the meso in a supercell thunderstorm. Most waterspouts you'll see are type 2 also, but there is also a type 1 waterspout, a waterspout that spawns from a supercell storm with a meso. The Elie Manitoba tornado never became a wedge, and it was rated F5, while staying rope like in it's whole life span. Thin or rope like doesn't always mean it's a landspout.

[skywarnraven10]

im trying to find the video of a jarrell tornado with the dead man walking on it anyone know where i can find it?

[Blake1960]

Not just above ground. It even destroyed pavement & gouged as much as 1 1/2 ft deep of soil. 

Force generated by wind increases with the square of the wind speed. If you've ever stuck your hand out a car window while traveling at 55 mph, multiply that by twenty or more to get an idea of the power of an F5 tornado (260+ mph winds).

[vfIskullangel]

WOW!. It went from a Landspout to the finger of god?.

[EasilyWowed]

I remember seeing a follow-up documentary of sorts, after the tornado levelled Jarrell, Texas.  I was completely astounded at the devastation and stories related by people who lived there; or saw the tornado from afar. Amazing!

[DungBeetleEater]

I was born the same hour it touched down. ^_^

[SakineTeto05]

so your twelve years old I'm 11

[YankHoe]

This was one of the worst tornadoes in history. I'm fairly sure what caused it to intensify was a "gravity wave" - Dr. Tim Coleman from UAH is the expert on those. Brian Peters who helped survey this thought it perhaps deserved an F6 rating - and most bizarre of all, it moved BACKWARDS - northeast to southwest! Crazy stuff!

[boodwah]

You're right. Some believe that the Jarrell tornado started as a landspout and became attached to the meso as the storm continued to backbuild due to the gravity waves. I've got links to the data if you want them message me.

[TheMightykaz]

@YankHoe does anyone have video of it as a wedge?

[YankHoe]

@TheMightykaz I don't. I used to have a VHS about this tornado when George W. Bush was governor of Texas; I remembered he was rather awed by it. It DID start as a very small tornado but turned into what NWS veteran Brian Peters described as the most horrible storm he ever had to survey. To hear him discussing it (and for a good link w/ some info) look up "Weather Brains" and go to episode 174 May 27, 2009 - wouldn't let me post link here, sorry.

[cbehr91]

@TheMightykaz Type in "Wonders of Weather" into the search bar here and watch the first video (I tried to post it as a video response but it didn't work). There's a quick shot of the Jarrell tornado as a wedge about a minute into the video.

[TheMightykaz]

@cbehr91 Thank you! Great videos! Looked pretty dam scary as a wedge.

[LetsDoIt4Johnny1]

@cbehr91 Thank you for that. I'm constantly trying to find anything I can on this storm; it didn't garner nearly the attention of the OKC or Greensburg tornadoes, even though it was probably just as intense.

[Tahima11]

Wow, that thing was moving very fast.

[Doubutsu1000]

I heard 27 people died in this storm. half where children and some cases entire families killed.

There is one thing i don't understand, If experts advised that people without storm sheltures should take shelture in closets or bathrooms, why did some people still die?

[supercellcoaster]

@Doubutsu1000

When the tornado mysteriously intensified before hammering Double Creek Estates (some think this had to do with a gravity surge), it was so intense that most homes were literally left as slab foundations. So anyone anywhere who had been in a house affected in that manner stood no chance.

[panzram97]

Answering Doubutsu1000: They died because the tornado was so intense it destroyed everything above ground, leaving only the concrete foundations of a whole subdivision.

[TheMightykaz]

@Doubutsu1000 They were killed b/c of the strength of the tornado. It prob deserved an f6 rating. Some people were never found. Prob strongest recorded tornado in history.

[TxTechRox123]

there's no way this is Jarrell TX F5 that hit there was more than a mile wide....I know, me and my german shepherd had clean up duty the next day.

[cbehr91]

Nope, this is the Jarrell tornado just after it touchedown. It was this small a skinny towards the beginning of it's life cycle. After a few minutes it mysteriously transformed into the large tornado that you mentioned.

[cloud281]

@TxTechRox123 i live about 3 miles from jarrell. it started out as an f2 the went back up in the sky and came down on jarrell as an F5. My dad video taped the tornado for a news station.

[GOODY61]

@TxTechRox123  this was the Jarrell Tornado before it expanded to a wedge.

[TheMightykaz]

@TxTechRox123 This turned into one of the worst tornadoes in history. If you consider it hit a small division and killed 27 people in it. The damage done tornado reporters that do damage assessment have never seen anything like it. Nothing was left. Just a slab. Also the tornado ripped pavement from the roads and killed entire families in the subdivisions. Including a family of 5 and a family of 4.

[Semitruckman101]

cool thats awsome when he zoomed up you can see how fast its going 5 stars

[vpiedra1]

damn interstate 35 looks so different here!!

[Kevra777]

I heard about this storm. Before it produced a Tornado, I had got real sick and told people that this storm is going to create headlines.

[NoobPwner2448]

OMG i had to hide from a huge F-5 in holland while i was 1 year old

[jhtreble]

I personally saw that tornado as I was bringing my daughter home from a doctor's visit. We lived just west of Round Rock TX at the time and saw this tornado as it ripped a trench through the center of an Albertson's grocery store in Leander TX (just a few miles away) I didn't know at the time that it had just devastated Jarrell TX and killed 27 people.

[YodaSkywalker]

I can't really figure out why, but something about the reporter doing that bothers me. Almost like she is fictionalizing the account a bit. Maybe it's because of what that thing ended up doing compared to how it's made to look in the opening moments? Great video anyway, just wish I could establish why that irks me so much.

[Thistlesifter220]

I think you hit the nail on the head. The news has turned into an "entertainment" industry at the expense of those who suffer in manay cases. This is just another example of that. . . .

[ruler1978]

they little sucker turned into a monster later on.

[mzbebegirl]

Was that when it was just forming? It's pretty thin. I mean, it could appear thin because they're sort of far from it. I don't blame them. It's so amazing how these things work.

[cbehr91]

This was taken just after the tornado touched down which is why it appears very narrow.

[victoriamig24]

i saw the legs and arms of that thing to tim and i saw jesus apear to he had a robe on and a book in his hands im not joking i freaked out when i saw the legs and arms to remember 911 the devials face

[cbehr91]

Good for you.

[timop23]

smoebody said that they felt wired and that the where scardy of the sky.

[cbehr91]

By the way you're spelling, you're wired too.

[timop23]

if you think that creepy. That same tornado transformed they said that it had arms and legs. And they said that it movied like a human would thats creepy

[larrypearce2]

Where'd you learn to spell, dude?

[bboijose]

i swear that tornado wuz unique the direction it moved wuz abnormal and te strength wuz as well ill never forget driving with my dad through jarrell after the tornado it wuz worse than some tropical storms ive been through

[LetsDoIt4Johnny1]

It moved southwest because there was a gravity wave draped across Texas from NE to SW that day, which pushed the developing supercells in that direction. The storm also moved exceptionally slowly, and developed from the weak rope tornado you see here to a three-quarter-mile wide wedge rather abruptly before striking the town. One of the more exceptional storms in history, no doubt.

[BlindLemonJaffaCake]

If only they knew what was about to happen ...