KCEN-TV: The I-35 Tornadoes - May 27, 1997 - Jarrell, TX
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- Опубликовано: 28 май 2022
- In the afternoon of May 27, 1997, severe weather ripped across Texas, spawning an F5 tornado that devastated the small Central Texas town of Jarrell, where it claimed 27 lives, injured a dozen more, and destroyed entire neighborhoods. KCEN’s then-chief meteorologist Bruce Thomas was live on-air for 7 hours as the tornado travelled just outside the TV studio and then south on the state’s major interstate, I-35.
This is a copy of a VHS produced as a fundraiser for the city of Jarrell in the aftermath. It includes some of Thomas’ live weather coverage from that day, as well as feature news stories about the victims, the survivors, and the damage.
Executive Producers:
Bruce Thomas and Allison LeQuin
Btw that's not a large man out of breath from running. That is sheer terror breathing. Seeing a tornado on RUclips is one thing. Having one barreling at you is a whole different experience.
Thank you for this video. The documentaries really don't do this monster or those it impacted justice
Major props to Bruce Thomas for being on the air so long, just like James Spann did in 2011. They probably saved more lives than they'll ever know
I grew up in Waco and remember this day so vividly. I watched Bruce and Rusty Garrett through most of the afternoon. He did an amazing job with his coverage.
In April 2022, Bruce Thomas returned to KCEN-TV to cover the Salado EF3 Tornado. What a comeback!
He was also there to cover the morning shift
This is by far the most first hand reports and footage about this terrible tornado, I think the fascination, if that's the right word, with these weather events is the sheer power of nature and the elements is sometimes so far beyond human experience that we keep coming back to reexamine the feelings and emotions it provokes.
RIP those who's lives were swept away that day.
I’ll never forget this. My son was born in April of 1997 and I watched all of this because I wanted him and my wife to be safe from harm above all else. 🙏🏽
This is amazing. I've seen snippets of this over the last couple years, But honestly, this is one of the most in-depth videos and photographs Ive seen of the whole outbreak.
That tornado formed literally in my front yard in Lorena I followed it all the way down interstate 35 and was one of the very first responders there. I saw things in Jarrell Texas that I did not believe possible. It blew the road bed away. Can when I mean it blew it away I mean you couldn't tell other than there was nothing growing there had ever been a road there no asphalt no gravel just mud! It scoured the concrete foundations and swept them completely clean of the homes in Jarrell. It did things to livestock I did not think were possible and had you had a wrecking yard crusher and shredder there is no way you could have destroyed these cars that were taken out of driveways and out of garages any more effectively than they were. If you stayed in your home in Jarrell and this thing hit you you died if you were above ground there was no way to survive above-ground. It changed everything for me and how I react to severe weather and tornadoes I don't stick around any more.
Sandy Silvas did an amazing job keeping his cool and taking care of business with that video.
He was in control of that situation as much as anyone could be.
More worried about the rain rather than the tornado moving toward him
He went against his gut and listened to her and stayed. He should have gone away from the moving direction immediately
I actually met Sandy Silvas when I was an intern at KCEN several years ago
Debbie...you had plenty of time to get them dogs and cats and go in the opposite direction. 😂
You know it's visually horrid when even the cameraman won't zoom in on the individual destruction, having seen the damage it proved upon the human bodies. No one person would want to be responsible for recording the images and transferring them to the news station to be played.
It's still important for things like that to be visually documented for historical purposes. Descriptions can change through time and language. Pictures stay the same.
@@RT-qd8yl 💯 People may think it's morbid, but it really does put it into perspective what these storms can do. Also, as you said, unedited pictures keep history straight.
Compared to OKC May 3 1999's Tornado there's woefully minimal news coverage of this Tornado, I don't mean people recording it, more like live coverage of news anchors on their radar that day
Crazy to see how young these guys were! I'm from Hewitt so to hear about tornadoes around here is terrifying. I can't imagine what the town of Jarrell went through. I know every time I pass through on I-35, I can feel the weight of what had happened.
At 7:10, that was very good footage of the tornado. It was very picturesque. I could swear the tornado was posing for those shots. Then it turned into an absolute monster.
Reminds me of the F5 in Elie, up on Manitoba iirc. It was a photogenic noodle dancing around, people were even having their kids pose with it and taking pictures. Then it picked up a brick house - an entire brick home - and had it do 180° around the funnel before spilling its contents out.
Then it took a truck full of gypsum boards and did a lay-up. Every bit as powerful as the big rain-shrouded monsters we have down here.
9:47 if doesn’t look like it’s moving.
It’s coming at you.
I think he had the right instinct.
I wonder why housing develpments don't have 2-3 shelters built in to common areas that residents can go to. Hell... they spend money on swimming pools...
Until they're forced to construct them, they wont - look at that condo in Florida that collapsed. The HOA of that place wouldn't even appropriate funds for necessary repairs - nobody thinks they'll be on the news. That's something that happens to other people. So why plan for it?
In the most tornado-prone states, it's an uphill battle to put storm shelters in PUBLIC SCHOOLS, for crying out loud.
I was watching him in Killeen when it was happening. My heart dropped when I was watching it hit Jarrell on tv. 🙏🙏🙏😢😢😢
this video is like a piece of gold to me. i’ve just gotten interested in tornadoes and jarrell is one of my favorites. great to learn more about it.
I’m sure that the people who lost everything that day will be thrilled to know that their experience is “like gold” to you. Or that their loved ones were violently killed by a tornado that you classify as your “favorite”. 😒
@HollyCat77 while it may arguably be worded poorly; to be fair storms/weather can be fascinating and beautiful at times. Where we get our beloved and helpful storm chasers and meteorologists who actually save lives by loving the weather. Condolences to the lives lost and their families.
@@HollyCat504 The other reply makes good points, so I may just be repeating things. From my understanding, the weather enthusiast community (at least, for the most part) is understandably fascinated with the sheer power of nature, but not in an adrenaline junkie type of way, more because they want to learn how we can prevent the loss of human lives from this level of power. I will say it's definitely important to at least acknowledge and respect the victims in the same breath, even briefly, if someone is going to say how fascinated they are by the severe weather. At some point, if you're in enough weather video comment sections, that just becomes implied and there's a mutual understanding that enthusiasts feel for the victims, but it definitely couldn't hurt to acknowledge them.
I'm sure the adrenaline junkies who don't show respect for victims or for the storm chasers who are genuinely trying to study/observe/report updates on live storms are out there too, but they're a minority and I'm also sure uservia is not one of them.
@@HollyCat504oh stop it. You know good and well that the comment or meant no ill will. Nature’s phenomenon is something that sparks curiosity in just about everyone on this Earth. That’s all the commentor meant. Go ahead and miss us all with your virtue signaling and sensitivity.
@@carlmay9532 I’m not being overly sensitive. The OP lacked sensitivity in their comment and that is the problem. People need to remember that while catastrophic weather events may indeed be fascinating to watch and study, that real lives were destroyed or ended because of them. We have all become desensitized to horror and often forget the actual humans that are at the heart of it. I’m from New Orleans. I survived Katrina but I lost everything and my entire life was uprooted. When people find out where I’m from, since I had to move and completely start over, they usually can’t wait to tell me about how thrilling it was for them to watch it unfold on tv. Sometimes they’ll realize what they’re saying and stop themselves from basically praising the hurricane that destroyed my city and killed well over 1000 people. Sometimes not. But the point is that people should be more aware.
I would be scared out of my mind.
It’s sobering watching what you know was the end of 27 people😔
I've acknowledged that also. While we're sitting there looking at the video of it sitting over. Jarrell, that day,.. many were saying their last prayers. What a horrific thing to happen.
Yes, I was thinking that also. It is sad to realize at the beginning of the broadcast there were people who were living out their last hour or so on Earth.
1:29:27 NOO!!!!! May 3rd 1999 would prove that to be a VERY bad idea.
We didn't know that when we filmed this. The thinking at the time was based on the famous video of the news crew taking shelter under the overpass. We now know (as you said), BAD idea.
I guess there are really no good ideas when facing an above ground, direct hit from a F-5.
Well the 1990 Andover tornado footage shows them getting behind EXPOSED girders. The ONE woman that was killed in the Moore overpass was exposed to the F5 tornado itself. That's the difference. An overpass without exposed girders is a deathtrap. But if you're on the overpass like they were during the Andover, you might have a better chance of survival than being out in the open. But then again how many F5s actually hit overpasses directly....?
@@trace6402nope, and even more so when it’s moving as slowly as the Jarrell one
To be (un)fair, there were tons of examples by 1999 which demonstrated why it was a bad idea - if you knew a bit about the topic, you knew not to do that, individually. But a news source isn't in the business of doing the critical thinking, they rely on agencies and organizations to tell them what to then tell us - and the experts weren't convinced enough to bet lives on the matter.
The word for YEARS was that you abandon your vehicle, lay flat in a ditch, cover your head. NOW there's discussion over whether THAT is optimal course or action, or whether modern cars, rated for high velocity impact with crumple zones and air bags, are a safer bet.
Regardless if you're ever in a situation where you must choose between those two options, you're chances are not great. That seems to be unanimous - do not be in that situation.
The woman in the home video is a fool. Great shot of a tornado, but a bad example of what to do.
I was wondering why the tornado didn’t look like it was moving and then the man started to panic.
So it is true, if the tornado doesn’t look like it’s moving, it’s moving right at you. That is scary
33:53, why can't we see more of that footage?
I have been infatuated by tornadoes and severe weather for most of my life. My Grandmother survived the San Angelo, Tx tornado of 1953, during the May 9-11th nationwide outbreak that year. She was buried under the debris of her home but was basically unscathed by the destruction. Unfortunately 13 of her Lakeview neighbors weren't as fortunate. She was terrified of bad weather from that day until she passed at the age of 89, 36 years later.
The Jarrell tornado was the most violent tornado in recorded history. The slow forward movement of the storm, which was a result of the peculiar meteorological conditions related to this outbreak, combined with the incredible 260 mph+ winds in this F5 monster, resulted in the most catastrophic damage of any tornado ever. I cannot fathom what these poor people encountered in the last minute of their lives.
The only silver lining to this disaster is the advancements that have been made since then. These advancements have undoubtedly saved many, many lives. God Bless all those that lost their lives in Jarrell and everywhere else in this most violent force of weather.
If you want to talk about not having a enough lead time look at what happened to Joplin. The Joplin tornado touchdown near Joplin and they had no time to take shelter. Unlike the Jarrell tornado the Joplin tornado was rain wrapped so they could not see it coming at them. Plus the Joplin tornado was moving faster than the Jarrell tornado.
The Jarrell tornado BARELY moved, sometime staying still for minutes at a time. But yea, my first time through the Midwest in the 90’s, I remember hearing those sirens sound off and nobody, I mean NOBODY, gave shit. Happens so much every year during spring/summer, that unless there’s an actual confirmation- everyone goes about their day.
More on the Joplin tornado around the same time a spotter behind the tornado (when lightning struck near the tornado near max intensity) was looking at a well defined large funnel. Another spotter was looking toward the tornado with the sun behind them. They couldn’t tell it was a tornado until it was close enough that it was starting to flatten trees. Even when that same bolt struck, it looked like it was in a wall of fog and rain.
But sadly what stuck out the most was as this spotter panicked and started driving as fast as he could through traffic (I’m honestly surprised he wasn’t chased by police) people were at the gas station, parked at the store…. Waiting in line at McDonald’s all of this and the tornado about 30secs away from hitting that same area with max intensity. I’m surprised only 158(?) people died that day
@@eg300 even I'm surprised not more people were killed considering what happened with the Joplin tornado.
Its not really a competition. Both Jarrell and Joplin were devastating. These events stand out along with Moore in 1999, Greensburg in 2007, and the 2011 Super Outbreak as most devastating in my life time.
@@bransonheinz2213 your right. Between the Jarrell tornado and the Joplin tornado, it's hard to pick which one is bad. I would say they were both bad.
I lived in cedar park at the time .... my dad also filmed it but who knows what happened to the video when they moved to zambia. Was pretty scary and we did not even get the direct hit. 😢
Man, the only thing that I would like for them to do if they ever do make a twister movie here in Texas. I would like for them to make one about Jerrell Texas. I was in that one in 1997 off the highway 35.
You're driving down the freeway in the middle of Texas. Suddenly, a tornado has you by your shirttails. Now, you notice that most super highways in Texas and Oklahoma are raised a bit above the surrounding ground level with sometimes enormous ditches on either side. Those ditches aren't there just to drain the freeway of flood waters in a big storm. They are there for you to dive in when there is no place else to hide for 50 miles around.
I just got one question. Certainly, get out and away from your car, but hide under an overpass? In the right, or maybe wrong, conditions, an overpass can be just like the wind tunnel used for research on supersonic aircraft. I saw a documentary about tornadoes a long time ago with a portion featuring a couple different families in separate vehicles stop on either side of an overpass over the interstate and one of the group took video of their experience. Someone yelled "Get up under the girders!" Everyone did, and the tornado passed directly over their position. The video caught the tall grass blowing violently in the wind on one side of the bridge as the tornado approached and on the other side as it continued on. Everyone survived, and I don't remember, but I think their cars survived too. But commentary on that situation explained the wind tunnel effect that could have sucked everybody out from under the bridge and maybe make mincemeat of them. Of course, out there in the sticks with not a building in sight for 20 miles, there wasn't enough pieces of anything more devastating than some weeds, grass, and a little bit of dirt. Maybe under a bridge will work if you have something to hold on to.
If the winds are bad enough it WILL suck you out like a vacuum...I do not remember the tornado or town, but that did happen with a different storm. The silhouette of those that were are still there, painted by mud, and called the Ghosts of (towns name).
10:15 dam right that things gonna hit u
Debbie should have shut up and listened to him. He had the right idea
Yeah she's insufferable
That man was looking for his son Bryan, smh and he and his mom were 2 of the 27 tornado victims.
I came thru about 15 min later on I 35.
Grew up in Killeen and I just finished middle school that year. I remember it was humid and rainy that day. We didn't know about this large tornado until later that evening. I use to watch Rusty on KWTX and Bruce on KCENTV at all the time. I don't think this part of Texas lies in Tornado Alley, I could be wrong.
God bless you youtube, you read my mind
For tge inflow jet to be sern and felt 4 MILES AWAY speaks gor itself. And by see in mean you can see the suction of yhe weeds and crops blowing towards the tornado.
I forgot something. What about the Kansas tornado of 1939? You know, the one that picked up a whole farmhouse and dropped it on the witch of the East? Well, beside that Hollywood nonsense, how realistic was the scene when the wind really started blowing up and Dorothy trying to kick the door open on the storm cellar? After that, her little dog ended up in thousands of bathrooms around the world.
12:37 let me go out get my phone just incase. Thought had be pretty rich have a cell phone in 1997
My dad had one back then. One of the now famous Nokia models. That thing cost a fortune, and a small fortune after that for the monthly bill.
My dad had a bag phone in his truck
@@shanerobinson3455 wish they had high end cell phones like they do now for this tornado this was 1 of worst ones ever hit and not much video of it. 99 Moore they do cuz just happened be in middle of every meteorologists area
@@patricklaurojr7427 I'll never forget April 27th 2011 an EF5 in Smithville MS and a very powerful EF4 in Tuscaloosa Alabama, I was basically in-between both that day driving, so thankful I wasn't hurt or killed
@@shanerobinson3455 yea I'll never forget that day either as I was in basic training at fort Benning Georgia basically on the edge of the these tornados firing off. I'm from jersey never heard a siren til that day I ran in barracks and nutty south kids running outside like where it at lol. I remember our drill sgts asking if anyone has family in Mississippi or Alabama and how an f5 crossed state line. I remember that month well I went from cool weather in jersey to at night thunderstorms rocking off like I never heard before loud as shit and it was just Nader juice in the air