Public Works Crews Continue Tornado Cleanup In Leesburg

LEESBURG, VA — Leesburg work crews and residents spent the weekend cleaning up from Friday morning's tornado that knocked down trees, doing most of its damage in the northeast part of the town. The tornado, measured as an EF-0, did not cause any injuries, according to town officials.

On Saturday, crews from the Leesburg Department of Public Works hauled away about 19 dump-truck loads of brush and debris. The crews were expected to haul away the same amount of brush and debris by the end of the day Monday, using one haul-out crew with three dump trucks and two tree chipper crews. The crews plan to keep hauling away debris on Tuesday, town spokeswoman Leah Kosin said in an email to Patch.

After the tornado hit the town Friday mornng, Leesburg Mayor Kelly Burk spent a large part of the day going door to door, including in the Lounsbury Court area of northeast Leesburg, checking on how residents were doing. Many residents in the area had uprooted or toppled trees in their yards and some damage to their homes. Although there were some close calls with falling trees, the town's residents escaped the tornado without any reported injuries.

Widespread tree damage was found in the the vicinity of Lounsberry Road NE and the Exeter subdivision, which are north of Edwards Ferry Road and south of Battlefield Parkway NE, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). A townhome on Ginger Square NE, for example, had its siding and underlayment completely peeled off, exposing its roof trusses.

Leesburg does not yet have an estimate of the cost of the tornado damage, Kosin said.

The NWS confirmed six tornadoes touched down in Virginia and Maryland on Friday. The Leesburg tornado was the only one to hit Virgnia. The weather service described Friday's extreme weather as an "historic tornado outbreak" across the mid-Atlantic

Through Friday, the town has waived all volume and size limitations for brush collection. Residents should place all tree limbs and brush at the curb for collection. Crews will not come into residents' yards to pick up debris.

Patriot Disposal, the town’s trash contractor, also will be collecting yard waste that has been bagged or canned Tuesday and Wednesday in the northeast areas of Leesburg.

Residents should contact the Department of Public Works at 703-771-2790 if they have questions about the pickup of debris.