'Thank God Nobody Was Hurt," Bowie Tornado Witness Says After Tree Nearly Hits His House

BOWIE, MD — John Dallas sat down to dinner as storm clouds descended over Bowie on Tuesday evening. Dallas popped on a movie on his screened-in porch, thinking the rain would offer a relaxing pitter-patter as he ate.

A small plant soon blew into the screen, catching Dallas' attention. He then noticed chairs tip over on the patio and tall trees bend fiercely in his backyard.

Dallas was mesmerized by the whipping wind. He didn't know it then, but he was watching a tornado spawn that would uproot trees and snap powerlines around the city.

"I thank God that nobody got hurt," Dallas told Patch in an exclusive interview.

Path Of Tornado

With winds reaching 90 mph, meteorologists classified the tornado as an EF-1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. That is the second weakest category of a twister, and it is identified as one with winds between 86 mph and 110 mph.

The National Weather Service confirmed that the tornado touched down at 5:31 p.m. around Tarragon Lane. It traveled east over the Bowie High School Annex before hitting the city's Somerset subdivision.

Most of the damage happened between Saber Lane and Stafford Lane, where the twister knocked a tree onto a home. Officials did not report any injuries or deaths.

The tornado lifted at 5:34 p.m. just before the southern portion of Whitemarsh Park.

The twister tracked a path that was 1 mile long and 125 yards wide. A map from the National Weather Service shows that the tornado went right above Dallas' home on Stonybrook Drive.

Witnessing Damage

Dallas knew he was in danger when the 50-foot tree in his yard started to rock back and forth.

"That's when I took off running for cover because I didn't know which way it was going to fall," he said.

Dallas bolted toward the front of the two-story, single-family home. He took shelter in his nephew's man cave, which was the farthest he could get from the toppling tree.

Another tree fell in the front yard. Neither hit the house, but both caused quite the mess.

The rear tree ripped open a hole about 10 feet wide and 3 feet deep. The bundle of roots stood taller than Dallas.

The back tree also tore down powerlines that connected to the home, pulling off some of the siding. Sparks flew from the cables, and the wind even destroyed the family's greenhouse.

Despite all the damage, Dallas never saw the tornado itself.

"That was the strangest thing," he said. "All I saw was the wind ... I didn't see a cone."

Dallas now knows the warning signs for a twister, and he is ready to act quicker next time.

"If I ever experience this again, I know from the get-go to try to find cover," Dallas said. "My nephew ran for cover. He got up under the table. That's what I should've done."

Related: Tornado Takes Down Trees In Bowie, Twister Confirmed By NWS