Storm Damage to Trees: Atlanta Emergency Guide

What Is Storm Damage?

Storm damage is physical injury to trees caused by severe weather, including high winds, thunderstorms, tornadoes, ice and snow loading, and saturated soils that compromise root anchorage. It typically shows up as broken or hanging limbs, split trunks or major branches, uprooted or leaning trees, and torn or exposed roots.

How to Recognize It

• Broken, cracked, or hanging branches (sometimes called widow-makers) still caught in the canopy
• Split trunks or co-dominant stems that have torn apart where two equally sized leaders met
• A new lean in the trunk, especially with soil heaving or cracked ground on one side of the root zone
• Uprooted trees with partially exposed root plates
• Large strips of bark torn away from the trunk or major limbs
• Loss of a significant portion of the live crown on one side of the tree

In Atlanta, most storm damage occurs during spring and summer thunderstorm season (March through September), when wet soils and fully leafed-out canopies catch the wind. Winter ice storms and the remnants of tropical systems moving inland from the Gulf or Atlantic also cause significant damage.

Why It Matters for Atlanta Trees

Storm damage is a direct human safety issue, not just a tree health issue. Hanging limbs, cracked trunks, leaning trees, and partially uprooted trees can fail without warning and cause serious injury or property damage, and even trees that look untouched after a storm may have hidden cracks, root injury, or destabilized soil that warrants evaluation before being assumed safe. In our area, the species most often involved include loblolly, shortleaf, and white pines, water oak, willow oak, southern red oak, and white oak, along with tulip poplar, Bradford pear, sweetgum, river birch, and hackberry.

General Prevention

• Have trees structurally pruned on a regular cycle by a qualified arborist to reduce co-dominant stems, remove dead wood, and improve wind resistance.
• Avoid topping trees. Topping creates weakly attached regrowth that is more likely to fail in the next storm.
• Mulch the root zone (a few inches deep, kept off the trunk) and water deeply during droughts so roots stay healthy and anchored.
• Schedule a tree risk assessment every few years for large trees near the house, driveway, or play areas so problems are caught before a storm finds them.

What NOT to Do

• Do not self-diagnose. Many tree problems look alike, and treating the wrong one wastes time and can harm the tree.
• Do not apply fungicides, insecticides, or other chemicals without an arborist's specific recommendation. Wrong product or wrong timing makes things worse.
• Do not attempt to cut hanging limbs, bound-up branches, or leaning trees yourself. The compressed wood in storm-damaged trees can release stored energy suddenly, and chainsaw work under tension is one of the most dangerous tasks in the trades.

Related Services

For most diagnosis and treatment questions, the right starting point is one of our services:

• ISA-Certified Arborist Services, for diagnosis, consultation, and second opinions
• Plant Health Care (PHC), for ongoing tree health management
• TRAQ Tree Risk Assessment, when the tree may be a safety hazard

Sources

This page summarizes general information from: UGA Cooperative Extension, International Society of Arboriculture (Trees Are Good), and USDA Forest Service.