Jarrell wasn't the only community hit by a tornado in May 1997

JARRELL, Texas — On May 27, 1997, the city of Jarrell, Texas, was hit by an F-5 tornado. That same day, an outbreak of about 20 tornadoes ripped through and demolished other parts of Texas.

In Travis County, the Hazy Hills community was in the direct path of one of those tornadoes. One person died there.

One resident made it out of his mobile home minutes before the tornado hit. His roommate stayed behind and was killed.

The tornado tore the house apart, destroying everything.

“The house was sitting all through here and that’s all that’s left is the front porch. And everything else is disintegrated,” the resident said at the time.

Throughout the small community, rubble was all that was left of many homes. One family survived by huddling together in the bathtub.

“I remember thinking, ‘Huh, so this is how I’m going to die, in a tornado. It’s blowing this house away,'” one resident said.

On Friday, May 27, as we air our “Remember Jarrell: 25 Years Later” special report, we will look back at the events of that deadly day and what happened in the days that followed. The program begins at 11:30 a.m. Friday.

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