The skies darken, and humidity rises as a storm with unprecedented impacts emerges. On April 4, 2025, the Bowie County, TX area experienced severe thunderstorms resulting in flash flooding, property damage and hazardous travel routes.
As of April 7, 2025, Bowie County declared the events taking place on April 4 a disaster as several reports came in that revealed residents suffering major infrastructure and property damages throughout the city.
“These storms also resulted in widespread and significant damages to the electrical infrastructures of Bowie-Cass Cooperative and Southwestern Electric Power Company, throughout Bowie County,” county judge Bobby Howell said in a release. “The Judge of the County of Bowie has determined that extraordinary measures must be taken to alleviate the suffering of the people and to protect or rehabilitate property.”
Students from Texas High and residents of Bowie County experienced the forefront of these storms without warning.
“When the storm hit, I was watching the sky on my porch and at first, it was a green color. Then, about 15 minutes later, it was raining hard and the sky was completely black,” junior Kirra James said. “I didn’t receive any warning in advance; I actually got my first warning after I was already stuck.”
Around the time this storm hit, Texarkana ISD students were released for spring break, many of which chose to travel during their time off. Due to the storm’s severity, many students experienced troubles while traveling out of town.
“We flew out from Dallas on Saturday morning in this rain and had an hour delay because of lightning, but once the plane had taxied, we figured we had been cleared to fly and had no nerves,” junior Meredith McPhaul said. “They told us at the beginning of the flight that there would be turbulence, which normally doesn’t bother me at all, so I wasn’t really nervous during all of that.”
Further into McPhaul’s travels, she experienced trouble with her flight experience resulting from the storm conditions.
“Once we got to 10,000 feet, we looked out of our plane window, and a bolt of lightning struck the plane,” McPhaul said. “It sounded like the engine was straining to keep going, and everyone on the plane seemed concerned. Soon after, everything was back to normal, and the flight attendant assured us that everything was fine.”
Many felt as though they should’ve been better prepared and notified for these weather conditions. Additionally, residents believe that the majority of the damages could’ve been prevented if they had been provided such alerts.
“I feel like a warning should be given ahead of time and not when it’s already happening,” James said. “The most difficult part after the storm was seeing all the damages and people being stuck and flooded out.”
