Getting Your Trees Ready for Hurricane Season in Hampton Roads

Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30, and the trees that fail in a storm usually showed warning signs long before the wind picked up.

In Hampton Roads, tropical storms and nor'easters often bring saturated soil and strong wind together. That combination uproots trees that would stand up to either one alone.

Before the Season

Late winter and spring are the best time to get ahead of storm damage.

1. Walk your property. Look for dead limbs, cracks, cavities, mushrooms at the base and any tree leaning toward the house.
2. Remove dead wood. Dead branches are the first thing to come down in high wind.
3. Clear the roof. Keep limbs 6 to 10 feet off the roof and away from siding.
4. Reduce long, heavy limbs that extend over the house, driveway or play areas.
5. Address weak branch unions. Tight V-shaped forks with bark squeezed between the stems are prone to splitting. A professional can reduce weight or install support cables.
6. Remove trees that are already failing. Dead pines, dead ash and trees with major trunk decay near your home should come down before the season, not during it.

What Not to Do

• Don't top trees. Topped trees regrow a mass of weakly attached sprouts that break easily in the next storm.
• Don't over-thin. Stripping the inner branches leaves weight at the tips and makes limbs more likely to snap.
• Don't wait until a storm is in the forecast. Crews book up fast, and debris left at the curb can become a projectile.

Native Trees That Handle Wind Best

Studies of trees after Gulf and Atlantic hurricanes consistently rank some species as more wind resistant than others.

• Stronger performers: live oak, bald cypress, American holly and flowering dogwood
• More likely to fail: water oak and laurel oak (both prone to internal decay as they age), older loblolly and other pines, and the invasive Callery (Bradford) pear

Any tree with root damage, decay or poor structure is a higher risk, whatever the species.

During the Storm

• Stay inside, away from windows on the side of the house facing large trees.
• Don't park under trees if you can avoid it.
• Never go outside to check on trees during high wind.

After the Storm

1. Stay away from downed power lines and anything touching them. Report them to your power company.
2. Look up before you walk under trees. Broken limbs caught in the canopy, called hangers, can fall at any time.
3. Don't cut limbs under tension. Branches bent or pinned under other wood can spring back violently when cut. That's a job for professionals.
4. Photograph the damage before any cleanup for your insurance claim.
5. Treat a newly leaning tree with lifted soil or exposed roots as an emergency. It can come down with little extra wind.

Our crew handles storm damage 24/7. If a tree is on your house, blocking your driveway or hanging over where people walk, call us for emergency service.

Replant Smarter

When you replace a tree lost to a storm, choose a wind-firm native suited to the spot and plant it well away from the house. Live oak, bald cypress and American holly are all excellent choices in southeastern Virginia.