JARRELL TORNADO RAW 16X9

This is the raw footage as I captured it adapted for 16x9.

[astridvvv]

The guy filming this deserves an award. He's so calm and steady, non-reactionary, zooms in at the perfect time, AND barks at the other dude in the background to "be quiet!" He gave us some of the best and most clear footage ever, even to this day, and this was back in 1997! The only tornado footage on that level (while keeping the same amount of atmospheric drama) is from the 2011 outbreak outside that mall in Tuscaloosa where the guy is filming it from his car with his phone.

[RetroRogue.]

This video is insane. Can we all stop and appreciate the quality of video for 1997. That camera and the guy filming deserves praise.

[YokozunaNumber]

The legendary "dead man walking" tornado. It starts out so non-threatening, then it becomes a wisp of cobweb, then a pencil, then Satan. For 27 people, this tornado was literally the end of the world.

[lotusbandicoot]

This is some mind-boggling quality for '90s footage. All the zooms on the vortex on the ground and debris during the formation stages were crystal clear. Normally I skip around a little but I'll probably be watching this one in its entirety

[forrestw.]

12:33 my God, it just blew up. It kept that same intensity as seen in the earlier rope stage in the field, and just widened it to 3/4 of a mile. This truly is the holy grail of tornado footage. Raw video of arguably the most intense and life-threatening tornado ever recorded

[christianfortner]

This footage is so underrated, especially the section at 2:54 showing the intensity of right where it meets the ground. I’ve never seen any other footage so close and high quality with a tornado this famous.

[elainebmack]

Frightening! Even that wispy string descending from the clouds was scary. You could see that even at it's thinnest string, those winds were strong from the very beginning.

[shaanchaudhry]

I was made aware of this tornado from the comment section of the Joplin tornado. So many people don’t know about this Jarrell TX tornado. It is one of the most sinister tornados I’ve ever seen. When it initially comes down as a thin rope, it just dances around like a ghost in a graveyard. Very eerie yet bizarrely beautiful. It then makes you believe it’ll fade out and then it starts growing into a monster F5.

I read every single death came from a residential neighborhood called Double Creek Estates. The tornado SHREDDED that entire neighborhood and not a single structure remained. All 100% slab. What made this tornado so destructive was the blend of its raw strength and size with a fairly slow forward speed of only around 15 mph.This means areas experienced tornadic winds up to 3 min. Think about how insane that sounds….

Every aspect of this tornado from what I read is unorthodox. From the conditions in which it formed to the behavior of the tornado itself and elements of the wind directions. There was never anything like it. The fact that the death toll wasn’t greater than 27 is a miracle in itself. The traffic on I35 was so insanely lucky. The tornado was so closely parallel with the interstate but never crossed it, had it crossed the interstate we would prob see the most fatalities on the road of any storm in history when you factor in how closely packed the road was and how the tornado was unusually slow moving yet packed so much power.

I can’t imagine the terror the people in that neighborhood felt in those final moments. Nobody had a basement because there was no reason to in that part of Texas. May they RIP and never be forgotten. More people need to know about this tornado, it’s simply too historic. Lots of excellent videos and info on YouTube. Keep spreading it!

[Dreadly]

This is absolutely incredible footage. How it turns from a small nuisance to a widowmaker in such a short time is sobering to the omnipotence of nature.

[eugeniagreen]

I LOVE this time capsule! A small slice of life in 1997. I wonder where those Polaroids are now.
I was 13 years old in Waco that day and scared shitless. I watched Rusty Garrett report on the storm all afternoon while it traveled down I-35. Thank you for this!

[Bipolar.Baddie]

In 1997, this man filmed one of the most destructive meteorological events of all time better than I can record a video of my cat.

[brizzle]

My lord the drill bit phase of this one is ASTONISHING! The rotation is incredible I’ve never that in any other tornado footage

[michaelwiley]

Wow. This is it. The crown jewel of tornado footage. Cant believe it, ive wanted to see this for so long. The lack of views just goes to show peoples ignorance about historic events. This is as important and awesome as any tornado footage in history

[codyking]

Man, this is crazy, crazy footage. To see the small yet violent rope all through the beginning, then around 12:35 you start to understand just how large and violent this tornado grew. Rest in peace to all those lost in Jarrell, TX that day. What a monster.

[Anonymous-kqoh]

Jesus Scott this is the holy grail footage of any tornado....I’ve seen documentaries of this tornado but not actual footage man. Thanks for uploading!

[BathSaltShaman]

On one hand, this is a diamond jewel of historic footage and on the other, historical value aside, it is beyond remarkable tornado footage period.
Ive seen thousands of tornado recordings in the course of my life, both deadly and tame, some worse than this. But this one always stood out to me. Even in its infancy, there is this malicious intensity to it, yet at the same time a vacant coolness. Looking at it feels not like observing dangerous weather phenomena, but gazing into the eyes of something evil. Your filming captured that intensity id say better than anyone else did. Thank you for sharing this.

[bigroy]

Hey, that’s me @ 14:05 throwing y’all the peace sign!!!It formed right above the northbound rest area, right over me.

[TeKnoVKNG]

Rotation was so violent at the start, you could just see the intensity in it. Very similar to the start of the Joplin tornado where it was just little intense rope and then exploded into a wedge in a matter of seconds.

[TheLocalLt]

This video, and Val Castor’s early-stage footage of the Moore F5 two years later, are two holy grail pieces of tornadogenesis footage. Although very different in many many ways, both started as tiny ropes with an extremely concentrated and very violent rotation tearing up the soil, before both becoming multi-vortex monsters

[TornadoTrackers]

THANK YOU!!! We've been desperate to see the raw footage from this day for years and this video does not disappoint. This is by far some of the best tornado footage ever captured. Amazing work, man!