Tornado Spotted Near Bowie Takes Down Trees: National Weather Service

Updated at 10:30 p.m.

BOWIE, MD — A tornado took down trees and power lines across part of Bowie just before 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, but city officials said no major injuries were reported.

The National Weather Service said there was evidence of a confirmed tornado. The agency received a report of damage to structures and injuries near Bowie near Annapolis Road and Superior Lane.

Reports provided to the city indicate that the path of the tornado localized damage to the following streets:

• Barrister Lane
• Bradford Lane
• Brunswick Lane
• Buckingham Lane
• Saber Lane
• Sarah Lane
• Savoy Lane
• Shadow Lane
• Shield Lane
• Stoneybrook Drive
• Shetland Lane
• Stafford Lane
• Stonehaven Lane

Mayor Tim Adams said first responders were out in neighborhoods very quickly, and were still assessing damage Tuesday night.

Residents were a little shaken by the storm.

“We are very fortunate there are no reports of any major injuries whatsoever,” Adams told Patch.

“Right now we’re just making sure that the citizens are taken care of. We’re looking at what we need to do to assess the power lines,” the mayor added.

Power lines were snapped by powerful winds and Adams urged residents not to come into the area.

“Please don’t come down. Give our emergency management team an opportunity and our first responders a chance to clear up the downed power lines and we don’t want anybody to get hurt,” Adams said.

Trishia Martinez was at home when a tree fell on her Bowie house.

It sounded like a “train out of nowhere,” she told WTOP, and the tree almost hit her and her brother.

Martinez said that she could see the tree from inside the house, and it took out walls. The roof in that part of her house was also completely caved in and the fence is destroyed.

The utility monitoring site PowerOutage.us said 208 customers were without electricity in Prince George's County about 8:15 p.m.

A Twitter user with the account name Trombone Joe tweeted that the tornado touched down near the intersection of Bradford and Buckingham. The winds uprooted large trees and knocked down telephone poles.

At 5:23 p.m., a tornado warning was issued for eastern Prince George's County and west-central Anne Arundel County until 5:45 p.m.

Residents were warned to seek shelter immediately in a strong building at the lowest level, away from windows, if in the storm's path. The National Weather Service noted that those in the direct path of a tornado touchdown could see "dangerous" flying debris. Damage to roofs, siding and windows could occur, tree damage was likely and mobile homes could be damaged or destroyed.

Other locations impacted by this tornadic thunderstorm included Prince George's Stadium, Glenn Dale and Riva.

The city water plant on Bradford Lane also sustained minor damage in the storm, although there was no interruption to water service. The building was repaired Wednesday.

"I am impressed by the quick and thorough response from our public works and parks and ground crews. Thank you very much to each and every one of them for working above and beyond for our residents,” Adams said Wednesday. “And of course, thank you to our residents for never hesitating to provide help to friends and neighbors in need. Your resilience is inspiring to us all.”

Yard Waste Rules Relaxed For July 13, July 20

Due to significant tree damage in certain areas of Bowie, the city will relax yard waste set out rules for July 13 and July 20 only for the following neighborhoods affected by Tuesday’s tornado:

• Buckingham
• Somerset

Residents must take large building debris to the county waste disposal site at Brown Station Landfill in Upper Marlboro or to another disposal site or hire a contractor to haul away the debris.