Heavy rains, thunderstorms strike Bell County

May 29, 2025

By David Stone

The Belton Journal

Belton, Salado and Temple were pounded by heavy rains and severe storms Monday, resulting in power outages, structural damage and debris-covered roadways.

Two homes in Belton were struck by lightning, according to city spokesperson Paul Romer. Both homes had damage but neither caught fire.

“We had one high-water call by Summer Fun, and lightning struck one piece of farm equipment,” Romer said. “We had multiple fire alarms caused by electrical malfunctions. We also had a tree on a roof on CountrySide Lane, one on Avenue A and one on Toll Bridge Road.”

“A Bradford pear tree was split in half at the Harris Center, and lots of debris was in Nolan Creek,” he added.

Romer said water was over the top of the low-water crossing in Shirttail Bend, but the road reopened Tuesday morning after crews removed accumulated debris.

According to Brennan Darrah, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth, just over 3.5 inches of rain fell in Belton and up to 3.6 inches fell at the Temple airport. South Temple had just shy of 4 inches of rain.

The first round of storms hit about 6:57 a.m., and it was followed by more thunderstorms around 8 p.m., Darrah said.

According to Meredith Bender, a communications specialist for Bell County, Emergency Management Services, county Road & Bridge Department and TxDOT worked through the night clearing debris from roadways.

Darrah confirmed that the storms moved from west to east across the county, producing heavy rainfall, damaging winds, and some hail.

Wind gusts reached 80 to 85 miles per hour, toppling trees and power lines and damaging homes and outbuildings. No tornadoes have been confirmed, and Bell County OEM had not received any reports of major injuries as of midday Tuesday.

“ONCOR crews are actively working to restore power as quickly and safely as possible,” Bender said. “However, the process may take time due to numerous downed power poles and lines.”

Property owners who sustained damage are encouraged to report it through the Texas Division of Emergency Management’s Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool. This tool allows individuals to report damage to private homes and businesses, helping emergency officials assess the extent of the impact.

To report damage, visit https://damage.tdem.texas.gov/.

ONCOR released a statement around noon Tuesday that stated “teams are continuing to work around the clock to restore remaining outages caused by multiple rounds of severe weather that impacted a large portion of our service area. We recognize that power outages are challenging for our customers and appreciate their continued patience as our restoration efforts progress.”

As of 3:15 p.m. Tuesday, more than 3,000 Oncor customers were without power.