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The Jarrell Tornado of 1997

4 Pages 969 Words May 2019

On May 27, 1997, the small Central Texas town of Jarrell, was hit by a detrimental F5 tornado. The tornado was a part of an outbreak that consisted of 20 confirmed tornadoes, ranging from one F5 to six F0s, that reached from Lorena to Moore, over a 200-mile stretch (Hurtik, 2011). At 3:48 pm, the F5 tornado, about ¾ of a mile wide, reached the Double Creek Estates. Out of the 38 brick-constructed houses, none of them survived. In fact, there wasn’t even any debris, just the concrete foundation. Along with the houses was a steel-framed recycling center that was also wiped out (Hagen, 2012). It is rated the 10th deadliest tornado in Texas and the last confirmed F5 in Texas (gendisasters, n.d.). 27 people lost their lives, including entire families. Usually, tornadoes “target” the more vulnerable populations such as elderly and young children, but out of the 27 dead, 11 were teenagers (Hagen, 2012). Along with human lives lost, among close to 400 cattle also were killed (gendisasters, n.d.). The tornado only lasted about 10 minutes and moved very slowly from the southwest which is unusual for tornadoes in Texas (Hagen, 2012). The tornado literally tore into the ground when it passed through, 18 inches deep, visible to rescue teams and media outlets that showed up on the scene (Hagen, 2012). The tornado was supposed to miss any main housing areas in Jarrell overall, as it fully missed downtown Jarrell, but the tornado turned a full 90 degrees and headed towards the Double Creek subdivision (Hurtik, 2011). In an interview with James Blackmon, police chief of Thrall, Texas, Blackmon stated he and other first responders could not differentiate between animal carcasses and human. He came across a body that he thought out to be a cow, which ended up being a middle-aged female (Hurtik, 2011). After the storm had settled down, Blackmon headed back to the center of town and passed a makeshift morgue being crafted by the volunteer fire depart...

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