Ice storms happen every year in the U.S., most often and severe in the Midwestern and East Coast states. Annual losses from ice storms exceed $225 million in total damage to trees and property.
Before an ice storm barrels through your area this year, make sure you take the right steps in the fall to protect your trees from an ice storm's devastating effects.
Ice Storms and Trees Don’t Mix
Ice accumulation can increase the weight of a tree by 30 times or more. When a tree is loaded with ice, any defects to the tree – such as decay, cracks, included bark, broken branches – exacerbates tree failure.
Ice storms and wind are a lethal combination. Trees can sustain more ice if there’s less wind. The amount of damage to trees depends on the combination of ice present, wind speed and the duration of the storm.
While January is the cruelest ice storm month, tree damage can be more severe if an ice storm happens in the autumn before deciduous trees have dropped their leaves, or in the early spring just before leaves emerge.
Spring damage has less to do with the physical weight of the ice, but the damage the freezing temperatures cause to the new leaves that are just emerging. Trees that send out their leaves too early in the spring are in danger of experiencing this kind of damage caused by late freezes and ice storms.
What to do Before an Ice Storm
Ice storms are inevitable, and they do damage property. But here’s can you do to prevent some of the damage from happening to your trees.
1. Identify trees with poor structure. Some problems can be corrected with pruning. Find the weak branches and remove them; look for decay and prune or cut these branches down.
2. Diversify the landscape. If you are adding more trees to your yard, choose trees that are more ice storm resistant and prune them while they are growing. Ice storm resistant species include:
- Amur maple
- Baldcypress
- Balsam fir
- Bitternut hickory
- Black walnut
- Blackgum
- Blue beech
- Bur oak
- Catalpa
- Colorado blue spruce
- Crabapple
- Eastern hemlock
- Eastern redcedar
- European larch
- Ginkgo
- Hophornbeam
- Horsechestnut
- Kentucky coffeetree,
- Mountain ash
- Northern white cedar
- Norway maple
- Norway spruce
- Ohio buckeye
- Pignut hickory
- Shagbark hickory
- Swamp white oak
- Sweetgum
- White oak
- White spruce
- Witch-hazel
3. Make a vow not go out and work during an ice storm. Because of the extreme safety issues with ice storms – with downed electrical lines often mixed in with the trees – it is extremely important not to work on your trees during a storm. Wait it out and leave the trees and damage alone until you or a certified arborist can go to the property to assess the damage.
After the Storm: Assessment and Clean Up
When the storm is over assess the damage: Are there trees that are hazardous to your family, neighbors or any buildings? If so, these trees need to be dealt with first. Call a certified arborist for large trees or those that pose hazards.
The best way to deal with ice damaged trees that don’t pose a hazard to people or property is to leave them alone since studies from the most recent ice storms in the northeast have shown that a ‘wait and see’ approach is best. Trees, particularly deciduous trees, are capable of forming new branches in places where branches have been lost. This might take 2 or 3 growth cycles and requires patience.
For more information:
Ice Resistant Tree Populations
Helping Trees Recover from Ice Storms:
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