A destructive F5-rated tornado tracked through a subdivision of homes northwest of Jarrell, Texas, killing 27 people.

In the afternoon hours of May 27, 1997, a large, slow-moving and exceptionally intense F5 tornado caused extreme damage across portions of the Jarrell, Texas area. Known most frequently as the Jarrell tornado, it killed 27 residents in the Double Creek Estates, which at the time was a small subdivision located to the northwest of Jarrell, and inflicted approximately US$40 million in damages during its 13-minute, 5.1-mile (8.2 km) track. It occurred as part of a tornado outbreak across central Texas; it was produced by a supercell that had developed from an unstable airmass and favorable meteorological conditions at the time, including very high convective available potential energy (CAPE) values and warm dewpoints.

Jarrell is a city in Williamson County, Texas, United States. The total population is 1,753 according to the 2020 census. The city is 17 miles (27 km) north of Georgetown and 24 miles (39 km) from Round Rock, as well as being incorporated within the Greater Austin statistical metropolitan area.