Jarrell Tornado 24 years later

[Razorback01]

I thought about it last week as we went down I35 camping at Belton, sad day.

[Montec man]

I live just South of Jarrell and had just gone to work that day. There had been reports of water spouts over lake Belton right before I had left the house, and when I got to work the first thing I heard on the radio was that Jarrell had been hit by a giant tornado. Couldn't get any calls through to my family to check on their well being. I immediately left work, but all the roads were closed and it took hours to get home. Felt true terror that day as I listened to the reports of the many fatalities on the radio, wondering about the safety of my loved ones. My family was ok, but I knew several that weren't spared. I'll never forget

[flywise]

My dad bought a double wide Mobil home that sat right between to empty slabs where brick homes had been. Basically approximately 100 yards between them. Every
Tree in the area was twisted off just bone the roof of the Mobil home. Broken window and mud was all that was song with it

[Tx_Wader]

I remember it well and the Brownwood tornado too. Just horrible destruction.

But I count 6 F5 tornadoes that have hit Texas.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_F5_and_EF5_tornadoes

I hope we don't have anymore.

[AlaskaFlyerFan]

I moved to Texas 3 years after this but I had heard how bad it was on the news. I got an eerie feeling the first time I drove up I-35 through the area. I saw the sign for Jarrell and thought “Ooooh, this is where that tornado hit.”

[Mtltx]

Very scary day that day. I was on a tractor shredding in cedar park, looked up at the sky thinking to myself “that don’t look good”. Loaded up the tractor and driving back to leander I saw the tornanodo hitting the Albertsons. Did t know then but my BIL was working at Albertsons and was hunkered down. Got home and could see debri flying in the air as it was still hitting CP. Never forget that day. Sad deal

[wytex]

Oddly enough, sitting downtown in Laramie last week and talking with a local gal in The Library about our weather possibilities that day, she mentioned the Jarrell tornado. She lived through it an had some stories that I could see were still hard for her to talk about.
She lost family and friends and barely survived.
Small world for sure sometimes.
Thoughts and prayers to those affected to this day.

[Bureau2]

Sad Day… I never want hear of another for any of us.

[Briar Friar]

I had heard that one of the neighborhoods wiped out was largely in part because of a guy at the front of the neighborhood had a bunch of trash cars lying around. As was told to me by a survivor...the tornado picked up those trash cars and loose metal and turned them into disposal grinder blades and those cars chewed through all the houses in the neighborhood.

My survivor contractor said it was 3 twisters that joined up sequentially to make one massive tornado...maybe not. Ive got to watch the videos.

AL Clawson has a huge concrete bunker in the middle of their shop because of that storm.

[Hollywood]

What a tragedy, I was working in Jarrell that morning repairing a CAT 973 track loader at the CCI quarry, finished early & went to another job in Dripping Springs. My old bag phone was blowing up, wife thought I was still in Jarrell. Thank god I finished early. I still remember my drive through that neighborhood that morning, returned a couple days after the tornado & to this day can not believe mother nature was capable of such destruction.
I vividly remember the recycle center & the trailers full of aluminum cans, the asphalt road in front of it, all gone. The only thing I could identify was a water heater. To this day I wander where everything ended up.
Let's all pray we never experience anything like this again.

[COACH_EM_UP]

I had heard that one of the neighborhoods wiped out was largely in part because of a guy at the front of the neighborhood had a bunch of trash cars lying around. As was told to me by a survivor...the tornado picked up those trash cars and loose metal and turned them into disposal grinder blades and those cars chewed through all the houses in the neighborhood.

My survivor contractor said it was 3 twisters that joined up sequentially to make one massive tornado...maybe not. Ive got to watch the videos.

AL Clawson has a huge concrete bunker in the middle of their shop because of that storm.

I am fairly certain that the first part of your story is not true. That tornado was going to go through that neighborhood, regardless of what was in someone's yard. The path that it took, which was completely opposite of most tornadoes is one of the reasons that it was so massive and destructive. I would love to hear where or who you heard that from.

The other 2 parts of your post are true. The Indian legend says that the 3 twisters that joined are called the "Dead Man Walking". You can see it in the pictures. Pretty chilling, even to this day.

[PondPopper]

I am fairly certain that the first part of your story is not true. That tornado was going to go through that neighborhood, regardless of what was in someone's yard. The path that it took, which was completely opposite of most tornadoes is one of the reasons that it was so massive and destructive. I would love to hear where or who you heard that from.

The other 2 parts of your post are true. The Indian legend says that the 3 twisters that joined are called the "Dead Man Walking". You can see it in the pictures. Pretty chilling, even to this day.

Let's don't argue on this thread but most definitely a bunch of cars and heavy metal flying in at 300 mph will do tremendous damage to anything it hits.. Without a doubt..
I've never heard the 3 tornado scenario.. Interesting.

[Hills of Texas]

Big ole German style rock house was turned to ruble surrounded by dead cows. Someone asked why all the cows were in the pile of rocks. Someone else pointed out the cows had been basically turned into cannon balls and smashed the structure. As the storm died down the cows were laid up against the rocks

[coop2564]

It was a beast!

[texan4ut]

I was appraising a house on acreage in north Georgetown I was out on a country road taking comp photos when the thing was on the ground siren blaring so I high tailed it home to Round Rock winds were insane. I was in my hallway and just cracked a beer, beer when my doorbell rang and there banging on my door. I t was a good friend of mine that lives in Jarrell. He was trying to get home but the wind,rain and hail was too much. We sat in my hallway drinking a few beers while we both continued calling his house, however we couldn't get through. When the storm let he went home. His placed was untouched, his neighbors kids were at his house with his kids and their house was destroyed a few blocks away. I went out there to help the next day and it literally did look like a bomb had gone off.