Will the Wind Topple your Trees?

Trees around the home are often susceptible to stresses from wind, especially in Long Island’s suburban landscape.  Homeowners who worry about a tree falling down from high wind, should consider the direction and intensity with which the wind typically blows through their properties. If you have been living on a property for many years, you may already know its unique weather patterns. However, if you are new to a property, it is worth taking time to think through before developing a removal or pruning plan.

Wind direction and speed can be measured with simple devices like wind socks or weather vanes or go high tech with digital anemometers and other gadgets. Check out your local prevailing wind data online which graphs direction and speed of winds over many years.  Your local professional arborist and tree expert will be able to tell you how local winds affect your trees, and recommend pruning guidelines.

Think about whether your trees are protected on the larger landscape by hills, groups of trees and/or buildings, or are they fully exposed and stand alone on a flat landscape. If there are buffers, have they long been there or have there been recent site changes such as construction or land clearing?

Trees slowly adapt over many years to the site on which they are growing by sensing where additional strength is needed and adjusting height, branching, allocating root and wood growth in order to stand upright against wind forces. Sudden, strong changes in wind direction (like from a storm) or an abrupt change in exposure can drive a tree to the point of breaking or uprooting.  Make sure you have a reliable tree care professional who is familiar with your property to help you keep your trees standing tall for decades to come.