Why NC had so many downed trees after Tuesday's storms
Tuesday’s storms caused downed trees in Durham, Creedmoor and Falls Lake.
Some people described the storm damage as the worst they’ve seen since Hurricane Fran in 1996. The Triangle had 52 reports of wind damage, which is the most in a single day in 2023.
Robert Bardon with NC State Extension's Forestry department said there are three main reasons central North Carolina had trees come down during Tuesday’s storm:
- The root system
- The main stem of the tree
- Or the branches
“The first thing to do is any time we have major storms like this [is] people should get out and inspect the trees,” Bardon said.
Bardon said trees are meant to sway back and forth. He said some of the reasons we see trees coming down is rooted in the Triangle’s growth. As development clears wooded areas to make way for new homes or businesses, the trees left standing aren't as strong.
“You remove the support of the neighboring trees away, that tree didn’t form that wood when it was developing, so they’re more susceptible to damage and things from windstorms,” Bardon said.
Dana Wilson works as an arborist from Davy Resource Group. WRAL News asked Wilson how we know if trees are hiding their twig legs under the soil. Wilson said there are two types of assessments.
There is a visual assessment – which costs between $100 and $200 per tree – where someone walks around the tree and studies it.
There is also a piece of equipment that works like a tree MRI. It uses electrical signals that can map the inside of a tree to show where it’s strong and where it’s decaying. It typically costs between $200 and $300 per tree.
After a storm, Bardon says trees that shifted or pulled up the ground around them should be removed immediately. He also said check trees for new cracks.
Realtor Jason Kogok had four trees come down this summer at his rental properties.
“Just as a tip, it’s sometimes more expensive to take a tree that’s laying down than a tree that’s standing up,” Kogok said.
Kogok encourages people to be proactive and trim trees that may be touching the house or at risk of doing damage from a fall.
“It’s not just the property damage,” Kogok said. “It’s the people inside the house you have to be thinking about as well.”
NC State Cooperative Extension offices in your county offer free resources for tree care.
Bardon said a tree's leaves can play into why they fall during a windstorm.
If the ground is really saturated and trees have a lot of leaves on them, the leaves can act like sails on a ship and push the tree over.
A tree fell on Josh Avery’s home on Tuesday.
“It was consistently down one way, then, all of a sudden, it would switch back up and the trees would go opposite,” Avery said.
Avery described the damage his home sustained.
“Rafters, roof, all the fascia boards, the gutters. Everything’s ripped off,” Avery said.
