Storm Prep for Trees: A Roanoke Valley Checklist

Western Virginia gets a bit of everything: summer thunderstorms with strong gusts, winter ice that coats every twig, heavy wet snow, and occasional remnants of tropical systems that soak the ground before the wind arrives. Healthy, well-structured trees ride most of this out. The trees that fail are usually the ones with defects you could have seen in advance. A walk around your property before storm season, and a bit of targeted work, prevents most of the damage.

Walk your property: what to look for

• Dead trees and dead limbs. Dead wood is brittle and breaks first. Dead branches in the upper crown are easy to miss in summer, so look up carefully, or check in winter when bare.
• Hanging or broken limbs ("hangers") left from earlier storms.
• Cracks and splits, especially where two stems of similar size meet in a tight V. These co-dominant unions are a common failure point.
• Decay signs: fungal conks or mushrooms on the trunk or roots, cavities, soft or crumbly wood, oozing.
• A new or increasing lean, particularly with soil heaving or cracking on the side opposite the lean.
• Root damage from recent trenching, driveway work or grade changes.
• Dead or dying ash. Ash affected by emerald ash borer becomes brittle. See our ash and oak guide.

Think about targets

A defect matters most when something valuable is in reach: the house, a bedroom, the driveway, a play area, a neighbor's roof, or the power line to your home. Prioritize trees whose failure would hit those targets. A dead tree at the back of a wooded lot may be habitat; the same tree beside the driveway is a hazard.

Work that reduces storm risk

1. Remove deadwood and hangers over roofs, decks and driveways. See trimming and pruning.
2. Reduce end weight on long, heavy limbs over structures with proper reduction cuts.
3. Consider cabling or bracing for valuable trees with weak unions, after an arborist's evaluation.
4. Remove trees that cannot be made reasonably safe. Our guide on remove or trim? explains how to decide.
5. Do not top trees. Topping creates weakly attached regrowth that fails more readily in later storms.

Power lines

Never prune near energized lines yourself. Contact the utility about branches touching lines, and hire qualified crews for work near service drops.

Before a forecast storm

• Move vehicles out from under large trees if you can.
• Secure outdoor furniture and trampolines.
• Charge phones, and keep your insurer's claim number handy.
• Photograph your trees and house so you have "before" pictures.

After the storm

1. Safety first. Stay away from downed wires; assume they are live. Report them to the utility.
2. Do not cut trees resting on structures or under tension. Spring-poles and hung trees are dangerous.
3. Document damage with photos before cleanup, then call your insurer. See insurance claims for fallen trees.
4. Call for emergency removal if a tree is on the house, blocking access, or hanging dangerously.
5. Look for delayed damage once things settle: cracked limbs, lifted root plates and split unions.

Watch for storm-chasers

After big storms, out-of-area crews sometimes go door to door. Ask for proof of liability and workers' compensation insurance, get a written scope and price, and avoid paying large sums up front.

Ice and snow

Ice storms load every branch at once, and evergreens hold heavy wet snow. Trees with long horizontal limbs, multiple leaders or previous topping are most likely to break. Do not shake ice-laden branches; it can break them.

Common questions