Use caution, common sense around damaged trees

Trees can be damaged by high winds, snow, ice and other severe weather. Some damage will require immediate attention while others may be dealt with at a later time.

Safety is a primary concern when working with trees. Any work that requires a chain saw or cannot be performed from the ground should be done by a professional arborist.

Insurance

In all but life-threatening situations consider contacting your insurance carrier before any tree work is performed. Most homeowner's policies will cover at least part of the cost of tree removal if some structural damage occurred.

Be Conservative

Don't prune or remove more than necessary right after a storm. Remove any hazards, and clean up roughly broken branches, but save major decisions on pruning and removals for later.

While the damage may look severe at first, concentrate more on how to save the tree rather than making a quick decision to cut it down. Damaged trees may still be able to serve the function for which they were grown.

Hazardous Trees

Loose or loosely attached branches and split trunks are obvious safety concerns. They should be dealt with as soon as possible to avoid the possibility of personal injury or property damage. Broken but firmly attached branches that pose no immediate danger of falling can be pruned after the more hazardous loose branches have been removed. Trunks split down the middle are very difficult to brace adequately, and trees with split trunks should be removed or addressed by a professional arborist.

Leaning Trees

Some storms may not break the above ground parts of the tree but might tip the tree over by breaking some of the roots. Trees leaning from root breakage usually do not survive for long. If a tree tips in a storm, it often means the tree had damaged or poorly developed roots before the storm pushed it over. If a tipped tree does survive, it often becomes a hazard from the damage it could cause if it were to fall.

Mature trees rarely survive attempts to pull them back into place after being tipped over by a storm. These generally should be removed and replaced with new trees.