The tornado that touched down in Jarrell on Monday night was given a preliminary rating of EF-1, with estimated top wind speeds of 100 miles per hour.
A survey from the National Weather Service in Austin and San Antonio determined the tornado touched down west of Interstate 35, just west of County Road 234 and North of County Road 239, around 8:46 p.m. The tornado then strengthened and widened as it moved southeast and crossed over I-35 between County Road 314 and Ronald Reagan Boulevard, flipping a semitrailer truck and injuring the driver. The tornado then dissipated east of Little Road around 8:53 p.m.
The survey determined the tornado's path to be just over 4 miles long and maximum width to be 150 miles wide.
KUT accompanied a crew surveying the damage. See below to learn about the process:
🧵 I am riding along with the @NWSSanAntonio survey team assessing damage on the ground from last night’s #Jarrell tornado for @KUT and @NPR. Follow along for updates about this process! pic.twitter.com/3wUez9Inms
— Kailey E. Hunt (@KaileyEHunt) October 25, 2022
At a news conference Tuesday, Williamson County Precinct 4 Commissioner Russ Boles said it's the third time a tornado has touched down in the area in the last seven months.
Boles, who represents Jarrell, acknowledged the city as "a community that has really been hit hard by the weather."
In 1997, Jarrell was hit by an F5 tornado during a tornado outbreak in Central Texas. Twenty-seven people died.
National Weather Service meteorologist Jason Runyen, who led the survey of Monday night's tornado, chalked up the trend to bad luck.
"From a climate and ... meteorological perspective, there's nothing going on locally that would attract more tornados to the Jarrell area," he told KUT. "It's just been kinda luck while we've had three tornados in the past year."
Williamson County's director emergency services, Michael Shoe, said he still feels the impact of Jarrell's history of severe weather every time a tornado watch or warning is issued for the area.
"People just being terrified of hearing a tornado is in the area ... that long-term memory is still etched so deeply in the residents' minds," Shoe said. "[But] it's weird ... I think that's what makes the community more resilient."
If your property sustained damaged during Monday night's storm, you can report it to the Texas Department of Emergency Management website here.