Severe Thunderstorms Unleash a Destructive Tornado in a Texas Town

Severe thunderstorms packed with strong winds and heavy rain struck Texas earlier this week, leaving thousands of residents without power overnight from Monday to Tuesday, October 24 to October 25.

US meteorologists said the series of severe storms was fueled by a fast-moving cold front, which also prompted the issuance of thunderstorm and tornado warnings for east-central Texas.

The severe weather also unleashed a destructive tornado in the Texas town of Jarrell, which more than two decades ago experienced a powerful tornado outbreak.

The recent tornado reportedly turned over cars and tractor-trailers and damaged roof of buildings.

There was no immediate report of fatalities during Monday's thunderstorm and tornado event, but flooding also occurred in other parts of the state.

Severe Weather Episode

In addition to the tornadic event in Jarrell, a number of areas in Texas like Dallas, Irving, Blue Ridge, Honey Grove, and Powell received beneficial rain amounting to at least 3.62 inches and up to a maximum of 4.14 inches.

The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex had the highest totals from the extremely heavy rain, according to AccuWeather.

Other locations in and around Jarrell received substantial winds, which became damaging in some instances, the US weather forecasting company added.

Local media outlet KXAN reported a fire station's garage doors were "sheared off" by intense winds.

In addition, almost 150,000 customers woke up without power before dawn on Tuesday, according to the utility tracking site Power Outages US.

US weather authorities, including the National Weather Service (NWS) and the Storm Prediction Center (SPC), in the past have warned the potential occurrence of tornadoes during severe thunderstorms, which is notably more frequent and intense during the country's spring season.

Also Read: Meteorologists Issue Storm Alert for Thunderstorms and Tornadoes to Central US from Midweek

1997 Central Texas Tornado Outbreak

In May 17, 1997, a cluster of supercell thunderstorms produced a destructive and deadly tornado outbreak in Central Texas, hitting parts of Jarrell and other areas as well.

An F5 tornado in the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale struck a Jarrell subdivision called Double Creek Estates.

A total of 20 tornadoes struck the Lone Star State, causing widespread power outages affecting thousands of customers.

Also called the 1997 Jarrell tornado, the F5 twister brought wind speed of over 300 miles per hour in the town and killed over two dozen of people and injured a dozen others.

The town also experienced an F3 tornado in 1989. Now, the recent tornado in Jarrell was reportedly weak compared with the said previous twisters.

However, it highlights the fact that the town is still susceptible to tornado outbreaks.

While a severe weather episode fueled the thunderstorms, the event left meteorologists scratching their heads and described it as "unusual" by the NWS due to the lack of upper-level forcing for ascent of light winds in the troposphere, where our weather occurs.

The US weather agency added that day of 1997 lack strong lift and wind shear, two out of the four crucial ingredients for large severe weather events.