AUSTIN (KXAN) — Central Texas is prone to severe weather in the springtime, so people who live in the Austin area are likely prepared to protect themselves and their homes and pets when storms, strong winds, and tornadoes roll through.
Something that may not be top of mind, though… trees.
After a microburst associated with a supercell thunderstorm moved through Austin last week, a viewer emailed KXAN saying they were concerned about the wellbeing of their trees.
“I was hoping you could do a piece about how to help your trees recover from the storm,” the email stated. “Every tree in my yard, both evergreen (my live oak) and deciduous (pecan, pear, crepe myrtle, hackberry) had their leaves absolutely pummeled off. I have no shade left in my yard. I’m really worried about my live oak living through the sudden loss of all its leaves.”
That microburst’s length of damage was approximately 10 miles, with a path width ranging from 1 to 2.5 miles. Maximum sustained winds were estimated to be between 65 and 85 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
KXAN’s Grace Reader reported earlier this week that nearly 2,000 tree-related requests were put into Austin 3-1-1 during the week following that storm.
Austin 3-1-1 said between when the storm hit Wednesday, through Monday, they found the following service requests:
- Transportation Public Works (tree issues right of way):
- 614 service requests
- Austin Resource Recovery (storm debris collection):
- 1,313 service requests
The city of Austin has several resources available related to the city’s urban forest and tree landscape. The city also often partners with TreeFolks, a local nonprofit dedicated to urban forestry and reforestation.
We asked TreeFolks about helping damaged trees post-severe weather, and what can be done to keep them healthy enough to withstand severe weather.
Valerie Tamburri, Director of Reforestation and Lead Arborist at TreeFolks, said trees are pretty resilient and can usually bounce back from damage if they’re fairly healthy and mature.
“This is a bad time of the year for a tree to lose its leaves, because they’re using them to photosynthesize and get their energy through, you know, spring and summertime,” Tamburri said. “But I think that if it was already like… a fairly healthy and mature tree, they can hopefully bounce back.”
“Probably the biggest thing that people are going to see is a lot of like, trees literally being ripped apart, like branches being ripped off, or like even smaller branches within the canopy breaking and blowing around,” she said. “For that, you know, if it’s not too extreme, the tree can probably be salvaged by, you know, just maybe some simple pruning techniques.”
Tamburri also recommended preventative care to keep trees healthy and strong. That includes things like ample watering and proper mulching and composting to give them support and relief from the stress of heat and drought.
“Obviously, we can’t protect a tree from like, these crazy like winds or tornadoes or snow or like ice, but I mean some things that you can do to keep your trees healthy, and hopefully not cause as much damage,” Tamburri said.
Tamburri recommended calling an arborist if you’re concerned about damage after a storm and recommended the website TreesAreGood.org to find a local, certified arborist.
She also noted that there are some things people who aren’t professionals should NOT attempt to do themselves. Tamburri said people should not climb their own trees to try pruning branches, and do not cut down trees without expert advice first (in part because trees could self-repair).
Tamburri added that live mulching — which is using living plants, rather than organic materials like straw or wood chips, as a ground cover — can act as insulation throughout the year and keep trees’ roots cool during the summer and prevent them from freezing during the winter.
A post-storm safety tip Tamburri recommended: go into your backyard and look up from underneath the trees to check for dangling branches and cracks or splits in branches and trunks. If you see any, call an arborist.
She also said tree debris from storms can be reused for contouring, landscaping, and various other yard and garden projects.
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