423 ABUS34 KSAT 292012 PNSSAT PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX 330 PM CDT THU MAY 29 1997 YESTERDAY...WEDNESDAY MAY 28TH...A TEAM FROM THE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE CONDUCTED A PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF THE TORNADO DAMAGE AT BOTH JARRELL AND CEDAR PARK...BOTH IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY. THIS SURVEY WAS LIMITED TO GROUND OBSERVATIONS IN THE DESTRUCTION AREAS AND DID NOT INCLUDE ANY AERIAL VIEWING OR PHOTOGRAPHY. AGAIN...IT IS EMPHASIZED THAT THIS IS ONLY A PRELIMINARY SURVEY. THE SURVEY RESULTS FOLLOW: IT APPEARS THE JARRELL TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN AROUND 3:45 PM JUST WEST OF JARRELL AND JUST NORTHWEST OF THE DOUBLE CREEK SUBDIVISION. FROM EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS...IT DEVELOPED QUICKLY FROM A SMALL...ROPE-SHAPED TORNADO INTO A VERY LARGE AND EXTREMELY DESTRUCTIVE TORNADO. BUILDING TO A WIDTH OF NEARLY ONE-HALF MILE...IT APPEARS TO HAVE TRACKED SOUTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE SUBDIVISION. FROM THE TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF HOMES IN THIS AREA...AS WELL AS VEHICLES AND DEBRIS BLOWN GREAT DISTANCES AND ALSO DAMAGE TO VEGETATION IN THE AREA...THE TORNADO IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN AN F5 ON THE FUJITA TORNADO SCALE. THIS INDICATES THAT WINDS IN THE TORNADO WERE IN EXCESS OF 260 MILES AN HOUR. THERE WERE SOME INDICATIONS BY GROUND DAMAGE THAT THE TORNADO MAY HAVE FORMED ADDITIONAL SMALLER TORNADOES IN THE DOUBLE CREEK SUBDIVISION AREA WITHIN THE PARENT FUNNEL KNOWN AS "SUCTION VORTICES". THESE WOULD HAVE ROTATED INSIDE THE PARENT FUNNEL CAUSING ADDITIONAL DAMAGE. THE JARRELL TORNADO THEN CHANGED ITS TRACK...MOVING TOWARD THE SOUTH-SOUTHWEST AND INTO AN AREA OF TREES. NO ACCESS WAS AVAILABLE TO THIS AREA...BUT IT IS BELIEVED THE TORNADO CONTINUED IN THIS DIRECTION FOR AN ADDITIONAL 3 TO 4 MILES. THE CEDAR PARK TORNADO FORMED AROUND 4:00 PM IN A DIFFERENT SEVERE THUNDERSTORM...AND WAS NOT PART OF THE JARRELL TORNADO. IT FIRST APPEARED JUST NORTH OF THE CENTER OF THE CITY AND WAS VISIBLE FOR APPROXIMATELY 5 TO 8 MINUTES BEFORE STRIKING THE AUSTIN STEAM TRAIN YARD NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF FM1431 AND SH183. IT TOSSED THE HILL COUNTRY FLYER TRAIN TENDER OFF THE TRACK AND ROLLED IT SEVERAL YARDS...THEN MOVED SOUTHWARD TO STRIKE A SHOPPING CENTER. THE TORNADIC WINDS WEAKENED AND PUSHED INWARD SLIGHTLY THE NORTH WALL OF A GROCERY STORE. IT ALSO TORE OFF MUCH OF THE ROOF OF THE STORE. IT THEN TURNED SOUTHWESTWARD...CAUSING ADDITIONAL DAMAGE TO STORE ROOFS...WALLS AND WINDOWS AS WELL AS SIGNS. IT NEXT MOVED SOUTHWESTWARD INTO THE BUTTERCUP CREEK SUBDIVISION. HERE IT CAUSED WIDESPREAD DAMAGE TO HOMES AND TREES...WITH NEARLY TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF TWO HOMES. IT ALSO TOSSED A PICKUP TRUCK AGAINST A HOUSE. THIS TORNADO WAS GENERALLY BETWEEN ONE AND TWO HUNDRED YARDS WIDE AS IT MOVED THROUGH THE AREA. IT IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN AN F2 AS IT FORMED...THEN INCREASED TO F3 STRENGTH AS IT APPROACHED THE GROCERY STORE AND CONTINUED FOR NEARLY ONE-QUARTER MILE AT THIS STRENGTH. IT AGAIN WEAKENED SLIGHTLY TO F2 STRENGTH...WITH A BRIEF SURGE TO F3 DAMAGE AS IT NEARLY DESTROYED THE TWO HOMES. AGAIN...THIS IS A PRELIMINARY SURVEY. A MORE COMPLETE AND THOROUGH SURVEY WILL BE CONDUCTED THIS WEEKEND TO INCLUDE BOTH GROUND AND AERIAL INVESTIGATIONS AND ENGINEERING ASSESSMENTS. THESE RESULT WILL BE PUBLISHED AND MADE AVAILABLE AT A LATER DATE. NNNN