NEWS
Tornado strikes rural Bowie
By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonline.com
Tornado damage struck the Bowie area once more and while the primary city-limits were spared the outlying area took the brunt of it.
Between 10-14 tornadoes were reported across central and north Texas Monday evening. The National Weather Service is surveying damage and as of noon, Tuesday had not made a determination if there was just one tornado or more than one came across the southern part of the county, or what type of tornado.
The tornado warning went out at 4:19 p.m. just on the heels of a tornado striking Jacksboro and causing extensive damage. Further south the system created tornadoes that struck Round Rock causing major damage.
In Bowie, the storm sirens started going off about 4:15 p.m. and residents were urged to take cover. At 4:31 p.m. a confirmed “rain-wrapped” tornado was located southwest of Bowie moving northeast at 40 mph. Heavy rain and damaging half-dollar size hail accompanied it.
This storm system appears to have started its path near Fruitland Road moving northeast across to State Highway 101 where there was significant damage to homes. Just east of Tower Road on Hwy. 101, a house looked like it exploded.
Bowie Police Sgt. Bob Blackburn said firefighters climbed into the debris to find three residents who had been trapped. Blackburn said he helped clear some of the debris as the residents, who were barefooted, were taken away from the collapsed structure.
“It looked like a thumb had come down and just squashed that house. It is surprising anyone survived,” exclaimed Blackburn.
County Judge Kevin Benton said Monday night it appears about a dozen homes were destroyed and another 60 received damage, however, as assessments continue in the daylight those figures could change. Last night there also were about 2,500 people without electricity. He noted while there were six citizens reportedly who went to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, there were no deaths to report as of Monday.
Local law enforcement officers were patrolling the damaged areas to help protect assets.
“We are in the middle of assessing the damage today (Tuesday). The Texas Department of Emergency Management is sending a team to help, but they also are working in Jacksboro. It will be several days before we get actual numbers,” said the judge.
Monday night the judge signed a disaster declaration for the county and that will be forwarded to the governor’s office. It was expected the governor would declare a disaster in connection to these storms which opens up relief assistance to victims.
Read the full story in the mid-week Bowie News. Also see a related story on the website about debris dumpsters being set up at the edge of Bowie. See more photos also in the mid-week edition.
There was a small turnout for the Oct 29 town hall meeting to explain the new emergency transportation plan being offered to residential utility customers in the City of Bowie.
About 25 citizens attended the session at the community center where Will Winters of MASA discussed the plan that will offered to customers and paid for through a $7.75 fee collected on the city utility bill. Every meter is auto enrolled in the plan, but customers can opt out by filling out a form on the city website or at the city finance office.
Customers will have until Nov. 11 as the deadline to opt out before the fee becomes effective on Dec. 1. There also is a process in effective to opt out at a later time. Opting out in the first 90 days qualifies you for a full bill credit refund, but after 90 days, previous fees are non-refundable.
(Top image – Bowie citizens listen to MASA representative Will Winters about details of the program at the city hall MASA meeting Oct. 29.)
Read the full article in your Thursday Bowie News.
The Supertunia Tiara duo debuted in 2025 and in this brief amount of time has become the darling of the landscape. The love and admiration from gardeners across the country including my area of West Georgia and East Alabama has been nothing short of wow.
As much as gardeners treasure their Supertunia Vista Bubblegum petunias, Supertunia Pink Tiara and Blue Tiara are here to say look at me! Oh yes, and both are building a trophy case with awards.
At first, it would seem the Supertunia Tiara Petunias were designed with the artist gardener in mind. While that could be true it is most likely that these petunias are so unique and beautiful that any combination or application you try simply looks ready for canvas.
Read the full Garden Guy column in your Thursday Bowie News.
The Bowie City Council approved a $950,000 project to improve the walking path at Pelham Park on Oct. 27.
Bowie Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Janis Crawley said the upcoming project will repave 26,277 square feet of pathway in concrete, spanning about 0.6 miles in length.
The work covers the trail section northeast of the Blade, curving past the soccer fields and toward the swimming pool.
Another section goes around the pool and sport courts, then back down toward the Blade. The project will also widen the trail section to eight feet and add a new 36-foot bridge.
Read the full story in your Thursday Bowie News.
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