2:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Around 2:30 PM, the next tornado touched down to the north of the previous weak tornado near Morgan’s Point Resort, on the north side of Belton Lake. As this tornado crossed a bend in the lake, it came ashore near Woodland, where “destruction to trees was nearly total” (NWS Service Assessment) and it “destroyed and damaged ten homes along Rocky Lane” (Lon Curtis). This tornado lifted about 20 minutes later after moving only 1.4 miles.
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Radar loop from Austin/San Antonio’s WSR-88D (KEWX) from 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM. Base Reflectivity on the left, and Storm-Relative Velocity on the right.
Another brief, F0 tornado occurred near the Stillhouse Dam near the split in I-35 and route 190. As this monstrous storm roared into Salado, you’ll notice rotation increase substantially, and the last tornado in the Fort Worth County Warning Area developed near Prairie Dell, which sits right off of I-35 at the Bell/Williamson County line shortly after 3:00 PM. Said Lon Curtis of this latest tornado:
“[It] looked like it was virtually stationary, although the portion of the vortex which was in ground contact was ‘wandering’ in a pasture about 3/10 of a mile from me. Between 3:10 and 3:20 PM, the cloud base portion of the vortex began thickening.” - Lon Curtis (Weather Bulletin)
This was the beginning of one of, if not the most, powerful tornadoes in Texas history. From most accounts, this initial pencil tornado grew into a ¾ mile-wide wedge over the course of a few minutes between Prairie Dell and the outskirts of Jarrell between 3:20 and 3:30 PM. You’ll be able to find more information on the destructive “Jarrell Tornado” on the Austin/San Antonio National Weather Service website.
