Three tornadoes confirmed in Montague County, with damage to homes, barns
Albert McClanahan heard reports of the tornado that touched down in Jacksboro on Monday afternoon, but he thought he and his family had nothing to worry about as the storm approached Montague County.
McClanahan has lived in his home on Salona Road in Bowie since the early ‘70s and never had major storm damage before three confirmed tornadoes damaged houses, barns and other buildings in the area Monday.
McClanahan said his family was watching the weather radar and thought the tornado “would leave us alone.”
“We looked out the window … and (my son said) ‘It’s coming here.’ and we didn’t have time to get out our back door and get to the shelter,” McClanahan said. “That wind and everything started blowing in, so we went in that middle bathroom back there and sat there while it blew over.”
The storm tore up the roof of McClanahan’s house, and a back barn was totaled as well, with parts of what’s left of the barn now in his neighbors’ yard.
“There’s a steel pipe by my bedroom window and I got stuff all up around here (that all my neighbors) have now contributed to me,” McClanahan said, talking about the debris from other homes that littered the neighborhood and each yard.
McClanahan is familiar with tornadoes after spending some time in the Panhandle, he said, adding that he’s always had luck dodging them before.
“But now I get down here and it blows me over,” McClanahan said. “It caught up with us.”
As for repairs, McClanahan and his family have no idea regarding their plans.
“As far as the roof, that’s broken,” he said. “They’ll take that roof off and redo it. But that barn … it’s made of steel pipes for the frame, so we have to replace all the sheet metal on it. … It’s a heck of a project to put all the metal back on that thing.”
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On the bright side, McClanahan said, at least he has electricity.
“I was so happy this morning when the lights came on,” McClanahan said. “It gets real dark. I was going to need a candle.”
His family gathered around the dining room table laughed. “It’d remind you of when you were a school boy, huh?” one relative said.
Outside the home, community members were gathered cleaning up McClanahan’s, and other neighbors’ backyards.
“There’s a lot of good people in this community,” one of his family members said.
“When there was a tornado about two years ago, everyone showed up and helped. That’s what you got to do,” another added.
After surveying the storm damage, the National Weather Service confirmed Tuesday that three EF1 tornadoes touched down in Montague County on Monday.
One tornado near Nocona had maximum wind speeds of 110 mph. Two tornadoes hit areas near Bowie — one southwest of town with 95 mph winds, and one east of town with 100 mph winds.
Four people suffered minor injuries, Emergency Manager Kelly McNabb told the AP. Local emergency management officials told the weather service multiple structures were damaged. The reports included a home that collapsed on Highway 101, houses “flattened” on Salona Highway, and damage to homes in the area of Brushy Road, Bishop Road and Well Service Road.
The county was included in a disaster declaration issued by Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday.
This story was originally published March 22, 2022 at 10:25 PM.
