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Tornado causes damage to two homes on Hixburg Road
By MARVIN HAMLETT/Editor
Friday, May 9, 2008 4:16 PM EDT
A suspected tornado - powerful enough to topple 200-year-old oak trees - ripped through an isolated area on Thursday night near the Appomattox County community of Hixburg.
Although nobody was injured, the apparent twister left a path of devastation that saw significant damage to at least two homes on Hixburg Road.
The worst of the damage took place at the home of Earl and Laurie Leap.
Four huge oak trees were uprooted during the windstorm, all of which flanked the home of the Leaps.
Amazingly, all four oak trees fell at different angles and barely missed the Leaps' home of 12 years.
"We are really blessed," said Laurie Leap as she and her husband looked at their damage.
"I don't know how all those trees missed our house," Earl Leap said.
Although the Leaps' home was mostly spared, the rest of their property was hit hard.
Two family vehicles were damaged by the falling oaks, and an outdoor shed and its contents were shredded by the strong winds.
Flying debris also created havoc, as notable damage took place to a swimming pool fence and a garage.
"The tornado started there," Earl Leap said, pointing to the eastern part of his property, which bore the initial winds of the storm.
Earl, Laurie and 12-year-old son Samuel were in bed when the suspected tornado struck at about 11:30 p.m., and they quickly gathered in a shower stall, where they hovered until the twister had passed.
"It sounded like rocks hitting the side of the house," Laurie Leap said. "I was probably more frightened than I've ever been before."
Earl Leap said the approaching tornado sounded like a train.
"Then you could hear things exploding," he said.
Twenty seconds later, there was silence.
"That's all it lasted, but we knew it was a tornado," Earl Leap said. "There was no doubt."
What the family did not know was the extent of the damage.
"We didn't even know the trees had fallen until lightning flashed (and lit up the yard)," Earl Leap said. "And when we stepped outside, you could smell that newly-cut tree smell."
Numerous yard items are now missing from the property of the Leap family.
A spa cover was lifted and apparently slung off the property.
Also, the winds ripped away a screen porch and then swiped away the furniture inside the porch.
"We have no idea where that furniture is right now," Laurie Leap said.
The couple said they were fully aware of the severe thunderstorm warnings and tornado watches that were in the area on Thursday night.
"We were watching TV, and we were concerned," Laurie Leap said. "But we had no idea what was about to hit us."
The house and property were insured, the family said, adding that the lost yard items and ripped-apart shed could be replaced.
But not the oak trees that provided the country home morning and evening shade.
"Those trees were majestic, and you can't replace them," Laurie Leap said.
Laurie said she wished to thank the quick response of the Pamplin Volunteer Fire Department, as well as Appomattox County Emergency Management Coordinator Freddie Godsey, friends and neighbors.
Beside the Leap home, the home of Mike Haggerty was also sideswiped by the twister.
Haggerty's home had damage to the front porch, and a barn was also destroyed.
Thursday's tornado was the second suspected twister in Appomattox County in two months.
On March 4, a small area near Bent Creek was hit hard by what neighbors believed was a small tornado as fierce winds ripped through the half-mile stretch on State Route 26 (Oakville Road).
In the aftermath of the winds, sheds were destroyed, trees were toppled, and debris was scattered throughout the neighborhood, located approximately four miles north of Oakville.
The windstorm struck between 6:30 p.m. and 6:50 p.m., according to residents there.
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