Bowie County, Texas severe weather history spans 849 recorded events between 1950 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 42.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #249 nationally and #28 in Texas.
849
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
56
Direct injuries
$271.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Bowie County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Bowie County, Texas severe weather history averages 11.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 203 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 170 events fall before 1990 and 679 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Bowie County, Texas record is tornado, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $141.7M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Bowie County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 364 | 0 | $5.0M | 87 | 1970–2026 |
| Hail | 323 | 0 | $121.9M | 4.5 | 1971–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 83 | 0 | $1.7M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Tornado | 59 | 2 | $141.7M | F4 | 1950–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2018 |
| Lightning | 7 | 0 | $102K | 0 | 1996–2010 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $1.4M | 0 | 2000–2015 |
Decade by decade
Bowie County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
62 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 56 touched down inside it and 6 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971-03-12 | EF4 | 1 | 5 | 5.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-05-04 | EF3 | 1 | 22 | 71.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1982-04-02 | EF3 | 1 | 4 | 52.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2022-11-04 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 15.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-11-01 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 5.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-04-30 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 111.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1950-02-12 | EF2 | 1 | 8 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-01-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-04-10 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 5.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-05-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 78.3 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Bowie County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 12, 1950 | Tornado | 1 | 8 | $25K | |
| Mar 13, 1971 | Tornado | 1 | 5 | $0 | |
| May 4, 1999 | Tornado | DE KALB | 0 | 22 | $125.0M |
| Apr 24, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 8 | $2.5M | |
| Nov 23, 1983 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 4 | $0 | |
| May 28, 1998 | Flash Flood | TEXARKANA | 0 | 2 | $1.1M |
| Oct 8, 1992 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 | |
| Apr 2, 1982 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This tornado moved directly through the downtown district of De Kalb and across a high school. Numerous homes and businesses were severely damaged or destroyed. The high school suffered severe damage. Sirens sounded 15 minutes prior to arrival of the storm. The damage resulted in a Presidential Disaster Declaration. This tornado moved from Red River county, TX across Bowie county, TX into Little River county, AR.
Fire department reported that car windows and sky lights and the roofs of many homes throughout the city were damaged from this devastating hail storm. Preliminary monetary estimate at the time of this publication was near 90 million dollars with local emergency management officials saying this amount would likely increase.
Straight line winds over a 6 mile stretch and up to 2 miles wide caused major damage in and around the Old Boston, Texas community 5 miles south of New Boston, Texas. Several hundred large trees were snapped or uprooted and some of these fell on homes and businesses. Numerous powerlines were downed as a result and roof damage was common throughout the community. Damage was also reported at the Red River Army Depot just east of Old Boston, Texas.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
92,115
Population (ACS)
$173K
Median home value
27
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 9, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE BERYL | DR |
| May 17, 2024 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Feb 19, 2021 | Severe Ice Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR |
| Feb 14, 2021 | Severe Ice Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Aug 24, 2020 | Hurricane | TROPICAL STORMS MARCO AND LAURA | EM |
| Mar 25, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- De Kalb 111
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Bowie County, Texas?
849 events are on record between 1950 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $271.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Bowie County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 364 recorded events — 42.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Bowie County?
62 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 56 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Bowie County?
27 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Bowie County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Bowie County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Bowie County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 79 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Bowie County, Texas severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Bosque County 470
- Brazoria County 549
- Borden County 210
- Brazos County 454
- Blanco County 249
- Brewster County 507
Cite this page
“Bowie County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/bowie-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.