You’ve seen in the news how storms can wreak havoc on cities and homes, people’s livelihoods, and everything caught in them. In addition to causing multimillion-dollar damages, these storms can flood acres of forested land, weakening the trees’ root systems and causing them to die.
If storms can be fatal to massive forest trees, can you imagine how disastrous they can be to your backyard trees? As a tree owner, you can’t be complacent when ensuring your trees are safe during storms, hurricanes, and tornadoes. You won’t have anything to lose, and more importantly, you won’t regret not acting.
Why Do Trees Fall During Storms?
Even though trees are cared for and kept in good shape, storms can damage them in several ways. Below are the five most common reasons trees fall during storms.
1. Insect infestation caused by constant flooding
Your trees will most likely become infested with insects and experience root rot brought on mainly by fungal infections if your home is constantly under water. This is dangerous, especially if you see mushrooms growing on or close to a tree’s base. Mushrooms need decomposing matter to grow, indicating that the tree is decomposing internally.
Watch out for “wet spots,” which can form on the tree, little canker-like sores on twigs and branches, mushroom-like spores growing on freshly clipped regions, and spores. Fungal attacks can cause the rapid deterioration of your tree and can cause the roots to rot, which in turn will cause the eventual weakening of the entire tree, causing your tree to fall when struck by storms.
2. Trees in urban places suffer more during storms
It is advisable to look at the terrain the trees are growing in if you reside in an urban area and have trees surrounding you. Due to the uneven ground and little room for the roots to grow, urban trees are frequently feeble. Planting or growing trees too close to building structures or other developed areas will prevent them from developing properly.
These trees lack the requisite symmetry to prevent blowdown due to one-sided roots or excessive pruning by utility companies. Sunlight is another element in metropolitan areas. Without sunlight, canopies won’t develop uniformly, disrupting symmetry even more and causing tree failure.
3. Root Issues
Strong winds and heavy rain can cause the “wind-throw effect,” which can uproot and tumble massive and mature trees. But have you ever asked yourself why trees that seem healthy are most likely to fall in the wind?
One of the main reasons why this happens is their shallow root system. Willows, Poplars, Cottonwoods, and Norway Maples are tree species with shallow root systems susceptible to the wind-throw effect. Another reason is that urban tree roots are confined from spreading properly due to constructions that damage their roots, thus increasing the chances of being uprooted.
4. Unstable branch union
A mature tree that leans by at least 40 degrees can be quite dangerous as it generates a structural imbalance and is prone to fall. Before the storm hits, these trees need to be taken out of the yard.
The close union between the trunk and the branch weakens the entire tree structure and causes the trees’ eventual fall when hit by strong winds and heavy rain. Trees prone to this problem include Boxelder, Freeman Maple, Red Maple, Hackberry, Silver Maple, Lindens, and Willow. Proper pruning and tree care are needed to avoid any future problems.
5. Soggy soil landscape
Strong winds and constant heavy rains can cause the tree to topple down. Trees tend to fall during these natural encounters due to the softening of the ground. However, there might be some human reasons why the ground becomes soaked with water.
When tree roots are covered in water due to landscaping changes to tree drainage or when house foundations obstruct underground water flow, a root system may get flooded. You can solve this problem without harming trees by using pipes or surface contouring to improve soil drainage.
You must know the kind of soil common in your area and its immediate relevance to the possibility of trees falling when the next heavy rain and wind hit your place.
In Need of Tree Clearing Services in South Shore, MA?
No matter how well you prepare to get your trees ready for a storm, you may still have to clean up afterward. As a proud homeowner, you might want to do the cleaning yourself, but this can be risky. If a tree falls on your property, our local tree clearing team in South Shore, MA, can remove it efficiently and safely using the proper tools and equipment. We also provide land clearing and crane services, so you won’t have to worry about cleaning up after a major storm.
Call us today at (781)-767-3888 for a free estimate of your tree removal project!
