One Day in May: The 1997 Jarrell Texas Tornado Disaster

Hey guys! Thanks so much for watching this video, I had so much fun making it! I look forward to making more videos on weather events:)
INFORMATION USED TO RESEARCH:

JARRELL DOCUMENTARIES WITH SURVIVOR INTERVIEWS:

FEMA TORNADO SAFETY:

MUSIC:
Tesseract by Cody Martin: RL2GJ6TUOTT1W5EN
The Curse by Wicked Cinema: VPDV0XW1OALZ3GLI
The Space Between by Chelsea McGough: XT10SSE7ASK24VWG
Invisible Line by Stephen Keech: JCMZZJXJA9T40EIU
The Lantern by Wicked Cinema: QAKXBME2H9CDVVFI
Breath of Redemption by Cody Martin: HJP4FPD18KVCYJ6W

[alicetheneko]

I want to talk about the clip where it showed a large group of people standing under the bridge. To those who think that is the best place to take cover during a tornado, this is a myth. Underneath an overpass is NOT the best place! In fact, it’s the worst because that narrow of an area can have higher windspeed. The best thing to do is look for a place to take shelter or drive away from the storm if it’s far enough for you to do so. Do NOT take shelter under an overpass!

[seanrosenau]

"If you see him in a tornado, you are about to die. The dead man has just walked in to Jarrell."
Biggest goosebumps I've ever had!

[metalmongrel]

My mom bought a storm shelter a few months after Jarrell. She was so horrified by this tornado she would stop at no expense to keep us safe if anything like this ever happened.

[ounce]

Speaking as survivor of a infamous tornado, all I can say is take warnings seriously and always be prepared. I can’t stress it enough.

[theresedavis]

What should've been learnt from the Jarrell tornado is that underground shelters are a necessity that should be funded by the state and implemented in the construction of every residence and public facility, where tornadoes occur! Everyone deserves a fair chance to live!

[winnienguyen]

There was actually one lady who survived laying in her bath tub believe it or not. Her and her daughter both ended up caught in trees, but her husband was unfortunately killed.

[Mr.Anderson--]

Hello, my grandson is a new meteorologist (congrats). We had a family gathering last month and my first question was, "which tornado was most powerful, " without hesitation he said, "Jarrell." He proceeded to show me aerial/ground photos from his laptop and those vacant concrete slabs were visually shocking. He said, "twisting speed was around 300 mph but what made this tornado so extraordinary was it's slow movement intensifying it's destruction." Anyhow I did my own 20 day research and what I saw was mesmerizing yet eerie. First and foremost R.I.P. to those that perished and my condolences to all family/friends.

27 deaths caused by the tornado occurred within one subdivision of Jarrell, a neighborhood of 38 well built houses called Double Creek Estates. Each residence was completely swept away and reduced to a concrete slab. The twister produced some of the most extreme ground scouring ever documented as the earth at and around Double Creek was scoured out to depths of 18 inches reducing lush fields of grass to vast expanses of mud. The tornado left an unbroken swath of barren earth vacant of fences, telephone poles, trees, pavement and homes that once dotted the landscape. Cars and heavy wreckers were granulated into small pieces and scattered across the earth never to be identified, think about that for a ..moment.

The cause of death for most of the victims was tactfully listed by the county coroner as "multiple trauma", although the truth was obviously far more grisly and difficult to explain to next of kin. Human and animal body parts reportedly littered the area for miles, creating an unbearable stench of decay. Police were forced to close off the entire area as a biohazard zone for weeks as cadaver dogs worked to find human body parts buried throughout the wreckage. Pieces were spread out on the floor of a local volunteer fire department - recovery teams tried to distinguish human remains from animal remains. Most had to be identified through dental records. Many were never recovered at all. What a nightmare.

Timothy P. Marshall is a structural and forensic engineer as well as meteorologist. He has conducted more than 10, 000 damage surveys of tornadoes, hurricanes and hailstorms. Tim is best of the best and after surveying Jarrell he said, "Houses were obliterated. The destruction was so intense, it serves as a baseline for which all other tornadoes are rated against."

Regardless if tornado is moving forward at 8 mph or 80 mph, fact remains that so many surveyors consider Double Creek storm to be the most catastrophic tornado in terms of intensity still today 2022. I've seen photographs of Bridge Creek, Hackleburg-Phil Cambell, Bakersfield Valley, Smithville, Pomeroy, Udall, Brandenburg, Pampa, Parkersburg, Loyal Valley, Philadelphia-MS, Plainfield, Greensburg, Xenia, El Reno, Joplin and they do not compare to Double Creek Estates duration intensity, Nothing Does.

I've learned and seen enough

What did i learn ?

That "Dead Man Walking" is an understatement

And my advice ?

If you see one,













RUN !!!!

[poisontea]

This tornado has both fascinated and haunted me for years. While I hope to never encounter a tornado with 300+mph winds, there is just something even more terrifying about a tornado with 260 mph winds sitting on top of you for 2-3 minutes. Thanks for covering Jarrell!

[jimbobshambles]

The power displayed with this tornado is staggering.

[astridvvv]

I love the story of the Hernandez family. The father essentially hand-dug their shelter (with help from the family) on weekends/after the work day. IIRC it was under their kitchen. And yes, the husband decided how important it was after Jarrell was impacted some years before that.

The tornado hit just days after summer break began, and the time of day meant lots of kids were home alone. The Hernández father was working at the time, and had rushed home to check on his family, not sure what he'd return home to.

Fortunately, he saw that his shelter had saved the lives of everyone within the home plus some neighbors who sheltered with them. I've seen media they did back then. In one of the interviews, it's particularly sad because the mom cries when explaining that she wished she could have gotten more neighbors down there.

But with the logistics in the 90s it would have been difficult to quickly send notice to the whole neighborhood than it would be present day with Facebook and Nextdoor.

I often think about the possibility (whether it actually happened or not) of the father hearing jokes cracked about the countless hours spent digging their shelter with shovels, Field of Dreams style—only for it to save his entire family in the end.

[somedumbguydoingnothing]

I have lived in Jarrell my whole life. I was 9 when the tornado hit and can still vividly remember the destruction of the area it hit.

[JCBro-ygvd]

Jarrell is one of those tornado events where the traditional safety rules were not valid. You could only survive if you were below ground or out of the path. Tornadoes like that are rare, but when they do happen you'll need to be extra prepared.

[Johnlmooring]

I remember hearing about this tornado. They said it was moving so slow and it was so strong, that it sucked the asphalt off the ground.

[chriscollesano]

I follow a lot on tornados. There’s something about them . But, this one almost seemed as if it had a bone to pick. Terrible.

[heatherhillman]

You could see from the beginning that tornado had some massive power. Just the speed it was spinning up when it was still rope stage. Crazy.

[katelyndunn]

I purposely bought a townhouse with a basement. I put an offer down on it a couple of weeks after the Dayton tornados occurred in Ohio. I live in Ohio but not in the Dayton area but seeing the devastation close to home really affected me.

My tornado plan is to put all my animals in their carriers when a watch is issued. They stay near me until the watch expires or is canceled. If a warning is issued I take myself and the animals into my bathroom in my basement. We shelter their until it’s over.

[andrewmarino]

Initially when the first responders pulled up on the road about a quarter of a mile away from they reported no damage and it went over open field only to realize a min later they were staring at the Double Creek neighborhood but couldn't see any debris it looked like a mudfield. Everything was flatten and wiped away to the point no one knew the neighborhood was there at first.

[UltraViolent]

I was in this tornado. I was on the bus back from a field trip to Austin. We got to Jarrell right before it happened and took shelter for two hours. It was absolutely insane.

[MayfieldCreekObservatory]

Great job. I live in Mayfield, Kentucky. I am sure you are aware of what we just went through. Craziest thing I have seen in all my years. I got my wife and kids out of town into a neighboring county about two hours before it hit. The location we relocated to had a basement. It didn’t hit our house but I spared them the trauma of sitting there wondering if it would, so I am glad we exited when we did. It tracked 1.5 miles from our home so they would definitely have experienced the horror of it close to them had we been home. I just knew that day something wasn’t right and followed my gut feeling. I just subscribed to your channel. Have a great day.

[Salix_nigra]

I obviously feel so bad for the people affected by this but I also feel bad for the animals. They can't go anywhere and are often trapped by gates.