Prevent your trees from dying after severe weather leaves them in tatters. By knowing what to do after weather events damage your trees, you can take swift action to save them and protect your property.

toddsmariettatreeservices.com gathered information on what to do and how to assess the condition of your trees, deciding what to do with them after sustaining catastrophic storm damage, and how to prevent it.

Damaged Tree Assessment

Once a severe storm has passed, take a look at your trees. The faster you can identify damages, the faster you can take action to secure their safety and start their recovery. Some emergency situations include:

Leaning Tree – This usually indicates that the root plate has destabilized, leaving the tree unanchored to the ground.

Hanging Branch(es) – Sometimes, branches break but remain attached to the tree or get caught in lower branches.

Cracked Trunk – The weight of the tree swaying in the wind can cause vertical cracks (splits) in the tree trunk.

Damaged Bark – When large sections of bark are damaged or lost during a storm, the tree can end up girdled and dying.

Defoliation – In storms with sustained high winds, a tree may lose a great portion or all of its foliage.

Windthrow – This condition occurs when a tree is blown over, pulling up the roots as it comes down.

Windsnap – This condition occurs when a tree crown breaks off the trunk due to high winds.

Soil Erosion – Another potentially dangerous situation is when the soil is stripped away from a tree’s root plate by floodwater, leaving large areas of roots exposed. The tree could suddenly destabilize and fall.

These and many other scenarios should be addressed by a certified arborist or professional tree service. In emergency situations, they are better equipped to prune, cut, or remove affected trees.

Arborists and Professional Tree Services

Unfortunately, severe or catastrophic weather seems to bring some bad characters along with it. If you are approached by people with a chainsaw offering to remove or repair your tree, politely decline and reach out to a professional. You can find or verify an arborist’s credentials in your area by visiting one of the following:

• ISA – International Society of Arboriculture – treesaregood.org/findanarborist
• ASCA – American Society of Consulting Arborists – asca-consultants.org
• TCIA – Tree Care Industry Association – tcia.org

When seeking a professional tree service, answer the following questions before making your decision:

• Is the company licensed to work in your city or state?
• Is the company recognized by national, state, or local organizations?
• Is the company insured and/or bonded?
• Does the company have local references?

While vetting a tree service in an emergency situation may seem ludicrous, it is necessary. If you allow an uninsured or unlicensed company to perform any services on your property or on your behalf, you can be held liable for damages and/or injuries resulting from that work.

Tree Risk Assessment

Can your tree be saved? Storms can leave your trees looking like there’s no hope. Major limbs snapped, foliage stripped away, or damaged bark may leave you with the impression that your tree is doomed. However, trees have an amazing capacity to recover from storm damage. Before deciding to remove your tree, ask the following:

Before the storm, was the tree healthy and thriving?

If your tree is healthy, did not suffer any major structural damage, and poses no immediate threat, it will likely recover over time. Prune out damaged areas, consult a tree professional with any doubts, and allow the tree to recuperate on its own.

Has the tree lost major limbs or its leader?

When a tree suddenly loses major limbs or its leader, it will be significantly more difficult for the tree to recover. When the tree does recover from such injuries, it may end up as a stunted or deformed version of the original.

Has the tree lost more than 50% of its crown(branches and leaves)?

When a tree loses more than half of its branches, it may be unable to produce enough foliage to sufficiently photosynthesize enough nutrients to nourish the tree.

Are the wounds left on your tree recoverable?

A tree can compartmentalize and close over wounds. However, this process takes time, and the more extensive the damages, the more likely the tree is to be successfully attacked by insects and diseases.

After pruning away damaged limbs and branches, have your tree assessed by a tree professional to help you determine its survivability.

Is this your opportunity to replace a nuisance tree?

If you consider your tree as the wrong species for its location (too tall, too messy, invasive roots, etc.), this may be the best time to remove the tree.

Time to Make a Decision

Using the above information, questions, and professional evaluation, you can make a well-informed decision about the fate of your tree(s). Most of those decisions will fall into one of the following three categories:

My Tree is a Keeper

• Damage is minor
• Light pruning required
• The tree is young enough to quickly recover

Wait for My Tree to Recover

• Damage is extensive but not apparently fatal
• Prune broken branches and give the tree time to recover
• Avoid removing healthy limbs and branches
• Consult a tree professional to assess the tree

Remove My Tree

• If the tree was already infested or diseased
• The trunk has vertically split
• Windsnap has severed the upper portion of the crown
• Most of the branches have been lost
• Too much bark was stripped away in the storm
• After allowing time to recover, the tree has only declined

Tip: When pruning your tree after a storm, never cut the main (upward) branches back to stubs or to the trunk. This practice is known as topping, and the branches that replace them will grow weakly attached and more likely to sustain damage during a future storm.

Trees and Storms

While trees are incredibly resilient, severe weather events can create some incredibly dangerous scenarios, exposing weaknesses in tree crowns, trunks, and roots.

Your awareness and understanding are of the most crucial factors regarding your trees after severe weather. Consider the following:

Power Line Safety – Along with tree damage, downed or damaged power lines can pose a severe threat of electrocution. When power lines and trees interfere with one another, it can leave the tree energized. Keep your distance from such situations and contact your utility company or 911 emergency services.

Property Damage – When a storm-damaged tree falls on your property, damaging your home or other structures, the following will help you sort out the situation:

1. Move everyone to safety
2. If anyone was injured, call emergency services
3. Contact your insurance company
4. Photograph or video all damaged areas from multiple angles
5. Contact an emergency tree removal company
6. Contact a plumber to evaluate your home for potential leaks and hidden damages
7. Contact a roofing company to evaluate and repair any damages to your roofing system

Other trees on your property should be evaluated for structural damages.

Be Patient – After a severe storm passes through your area, city officials and response teams need time to organize and properly respond to the destruction left behind.

City crews, utility crews, and tree care companies will first focus on eliminating hazards to life and property. Afterward, the often daunting task of debris removal, including fallen branches and entire trees, will take place.

Responsibility – The responsibility of storm-damaged street-side trees varies from city to city. To determine whether you are responsible for street-side trees bordering your property, contact your city’s arborist or forester.

Tree Preparation for Storms

One of the greatest ways to help your trees survive a storm is to prepare them for one. While a storm’s impact is unpredictable, there are ways to give your tree a fighting chance. Consider the following:

• Keep your tree sufficiently watered
• Fertilize when needed
• Mulch the root plate
• Prevent or eliminate insect infestations or diseases
• Annual tree inspections
• Crown thinning and seasonal pruning

Tip: Remove trees in rapid decline or that have already died. When these trees fall in severe storms, they can cause catastrophic damage to structures and other healthy trees.

Read more about preparing trees for storms at toddsmariettatreeservices.com/tree-preparation-storms-hazardous-weather/

Trees Surviving Storms

In this article, you discovered how to assess the condition of your trees after severe weather events, how to determine a course of action for your damaged trees, and preventative measures to take before a storm.

Knowing how to assess your trees after severe weather events, you can help them recover or make informed decisions about their removal.

When you ignore storm-damaged trees, you create the possibility for catastrophic damages when your tree suddenly falls on your home or car.

Sources:
texashelp.tamu.edu/browse/by-type/naturally-occurring/severe-weather/trees/
extension2.missouri.edu/g6867
agrilife.org/treecarekit/after-the-storm/repairing-storm-damaged-trees/
static.colostate.edu/client-files/csfs/pdfs/FINAL_Storm_Damage_Quick_Guide.pdf

Don’t let your trees threaten your property or life as they destabilize during severe weather. Regular tree assessments and preventative measures can help your trees survive severe storm conditions intact.

toddsmariettatreeservices.com gathered information on why trees need regular hazard assessments, what is examined during an evaluation, the types of damages trees suffer in different storms, and preventative measures you can take.

Tree Hazard Assessments – Emergency and Storm Safety

Tree hazard (or tree risk) assessments provide crucial information to the surveyor and the homeowner about the health and stability of the trees being surveyed. These assessments are used in determining:

• The overall health and stability of a tree
• Whether a tree will remain stable during severe weather events
• If the tree poses an infestation or disease threat to surrounding trees
• If the tree is a threat to surrounding structures or people
• A course of action including pruning or removal

The older your trees become, the more they require hazard assessments. As trees age, they become more massive, less flexible, and in many cases, more susceptible to disease and infestations.

Just as necessary is the assessment of the soil where the tree is rooted, soil erosion can become a significant problem for a tree’s stability. This erosion can cause the root plate to lift during the slightest of winds resulting in an emergency, and the toppling of an otherwise healthy tree.

Without these assessments, your trees can develop irreversible damages from diseases, infestations, girdling, compacted soil, and many other conditions (detected in an assessment) that weaken the tree. All it takes is one severe storm to bring down a weakened tree and cause catastrophic damages.

Follow the link for signs and symptoms of a troubled tree toddsmariettatreeservices.com/troubled-tree-signs-symptoms/

What is a Tree Hazard Assessment?

Tree hazard assessments happen when a tree professional or certified arborist physically survey the overall health and stability of a tree. A typical assessment looks for the following:

• Signs of disease
• Signs of infestation
• Abnormal growth habits
• Leaning
• Dead, missing, or damaged bark
• Cracks
• Lightning damage
• Balance and density of the crown
• Dead twigs or branches
• Mushroom conks
• Cankers

These examinations are comprehensive and include assessments of:

• Cut or damaged surface roots
• Lifting of the root plate
• Soil conditions and/or erosion
• Soil compaction
• Pavement over roots
• Topography
• Surrounding structures (targets)
• Typical weather for the location
• Wind exposure
• Vines and other potentially harmful plant species

When a tree professional or arborist performs a tree hazard assessment, he is looking for anything about the tree, its root plate, or environment that could be alarming. Read toddsmariettatreeservices.com/how-to-identify-tree-emergency/ for some warning signs and things to look for that indicate a potential tree emergency, and call an arborist or professional tree service if you suspect something is wrong.

Disaster Tree Damage Caused by Storms

Tree hazard assessments take into account the weather patterns common to the tree’s location. Different elements of weather impact trees differently and may require specific actions to prevent irreversible damages to the tree. The following are some of the weather conditions that can cause a weakened tree to topple and preventative measures:

Wind – When wind speeds are high, they can impose tremendous force on a tree. During hurricanes or tornadoes, trees may be stripped of their leaves and branches. These winds are capable of twisting, breaking, and uprooting trees. Also, during major storms, debris may debark the tree requiring its removal after the storm.

Course of action: Promote the health of the tree by fertilizing, mulching, and pruning. Provide deep watering to promote deep root growth, and hire a professional tree service to thin out the crown, reducing the tree’s wind-resistance.

You can also create wind diversions by planting shrubs upwind from your trees or by installing fences along your property line.

Flooding – Erosion caused by flooding can be devastating to all plant life. Floods typically result in the complete saturation of the ground and can quickly destabilize the roots of the oldest and strongest of trees.

Course of action: Plant trees on elevated land and reconfigure your landscaping to facilitate water runoff from your property.

Promote the health of your trees by fertilizing, mulching, and pruning. When floods are caused by storm surge, it is the health of your tree and the depth of its roots that will help determine whether it topples or not.

Lightning – By their height, trees are a common target for lightning. Your tree’s bark may be blown off or scars left on the trunk when the electricity is conducted along the outside of the tree. When the electrical charge penetrates the tree trunk, the moisture within the trunk may be converted to vapor and cause the tree to explode.

The most susceptible trees to lightning strikes are poplars, pines, oaks, and elms.

Course of action: Install lightning rods on your property and to the top of your home to divert lightning from your trees.

Ice – Winter snow or ice storms may deposit ice on the foliage and branches of your tree. The weight of accumulated ice on a tree together with wind can break branches or cause the tree to fall.

Trees resistant to ice damage include oaks, beech, birch, and American hornbeam.

Course of action: As always, maintain the health of your tree throughout its growing season. In the fall, have your trees pruned, and crowns thinned to reduce the potential of ice accumulation.

In some cases, storms can unleash tremendous amounts of rain, wind, flooding, etc. that can bring down weakened and healthy trees alike. However, annual hazard assessments allow you to take actions that minimize damages to your trees and property when they fall.

Tree Health and Hazard Assessments

In this article, you discovered the importance of tree hazard assessments, what tree professionals look for during an assessment, what damages are caused by storms, and what you can do to help your trees through storms.

By scheduling annual tree hazard assessments, you create the possibility to catch and reverse potential threats to your tree’s health. These assessments also enable you to remove trees that can cause catastrophic damages when toppling in storms.

If you neglect to have hazard assessments performed, infestations, soil compaction, or disease may weaken your tree to the point where it falls during a weather event. Thus, endangering your property, home, and life.

Sources:
http://gatrees.org/community-forests/management/trees-storm-safety/storm-preparation/index.cfm
https://www.southernforests.org/urban/trees-and-storm-safety