Hurricane Season Tree Risks in Massachusetts

Hurricane season in Massachusetts runs from June 1 through November 30. The peak months for us are August and September, but tropical moisture and fast-moving fronts start stirring up trouble as early as June. And every year, the same trees cause the same problems, because nobody looked at them until they were on the roof.

I am Keith McDonald. I have been removing storm-damaged trees across Billerica, Chelmsford, and the rest of Middlesex County since 1995. In a bad storm season, we do 40 or 50 emergency calls in a three-month span. Most of those emergencies were preventable. The tree was already showing signs of trouble in May. Nobody called until August.

Here is what actually causes tree failures during hurricane season in Massachusetts — and what you can do about it right now, while the ground is dry and the calendar is calm.

1. Dead or Dying Ash Trees

This is the single biggest risk in our service area right now. The emerald ash borer has killed the majority of untreated ash trees in Middlesex County. A dead ash tree is not just ugly. It is structurally compromised. The wood dries out, becomes brittle, and snaps without warning in 40 mph winds.

We removed 50-plus dead ash trees in Billerica alone in the last five years. Every one of them was a homeowner who waited too long. The tree looked fine in spring. By August, it was in pieces across the driveway.

What to look for: Bare branches in the upper canopy during growing season. Bark peeling off in strips. Small D-shaped exit holes in the trunk (the signature of ash borer). If your ash tree lost more than a third of its canopy last year, it is on borrowed time.

What to do: Remove it before storm season. A planned removal costs $800 to $2,000. An emergency removal after it falls on your garage costs $2,000 to $5,000. The math is not complicated.

2. Co-Dominant Stems (The Split Trunk Problem)

A co-dominant stem is where a tree splits into two or more main trunks instead of having one central leader. You see this constantly in red maples, Bradford pears, and ornamental cherries. The split looks fine for years, until a hurricane loads up one side of the canopy with wind and the whole thing tears apart.

I have seen 60-foot maples in Tewksbury and Wilmington that split right down the middle during a summer microburst. The tree was healthy. The wood was sound. But the structural geometry was wrong, two trunks competing instead of one, and the wind found the weak point.

What to look for: A V-shaped split where two trunks meet. Bark trapped in the crotch (called included bark). One side of the canopy significantly larger than the other. Any crack or gap at the junction point.

What to do: A co-dominant stem on a large tree near your house is a removal candidate. On a smaller tree, cabling and bracing can support the weak point. Our cabling and bracing cost guide explains when that makes sense. Either way, do not wait for the storm to make the decision for you.

3. White Pines With Shallow Roots

White pines are the tallest trees in our area, 60 to 80 feet is common, and they have notoriously shallow root systems. They grow tall and straight for decades, looking perfectly stable, and then one ice storm or hurricane loads up that massive canopy and the whole tree goes over. Root ball and all.

In Westford, Carlisle, and Lincoln, where mature white pines line rural roads and property borders, this is the number one storm damage call we get. The tree did not rot. It did not have disease. It just had 60 feet of sail on top and 3 feet of roots on the bottom.

What to look for: A white pine taller than 50 feet within striking distance of your house, garage, or power lines. Check for any lean — even a slight one. Look at the soil around the base for heaving or cracking, which means the root plate is already shifting.

What to do: If the pine is within falling distance of a structure and shows any lean or root movement, removal is the safe call. If it is in an open area with nothing to hit, you can let it ride. But measure the fall zone honestly — a 70-foot pine has a 70-foot radius of destruction.

4. Overhanging Limbs Near the Roof

This one seems obvious, but you would be surprised how many homeowners live with large branches hanging over their roof for years. In a normal breeze, they sway. In a hurricane, they become projectiles. A 200-pound oak limb dropping from 40 feet will punch through asphalt shingles, plywood sheathing, and your ceiling without slowing down.

The worst calls we get are trees that were "close but not touching" the roof. The homeowner figured the branches were fine because they had not hit anything yet. Then a 60 mph gust pushes the canopy 3 feet further than normal, and now you have a limb in the spare bedroom.

What to look for: Any branch larger than 4 inches in diameter hanging over or within 10 feet of your roof. Dead branches lodged in the canopy (widowmakers). Branches rubbing against siding or gutters.

What to do: Crown cleaning and deadwood removal. We climb the tree, remove the hazardous limbs, and thin the canopy to reduce wind resistance. This is standard maintenance, not a removal. Typical cost is $300 to $800 depending on the tree size and how many limbs need to come off. Our tree pruning cost guide has the full breakdown.

5. Trees With Root Damage From Construction

This is the one that breaks my heart, because it is entirely preventable. A homeowner puts in a new driveway, an addition, or a pool. The excavator drives over the root zone, compacts the soil, and severs major roots. The tree looks fine that year. Maybe a little thin the next year. By year three, the canopy is noticeably declining. By the first major storm, the tree is on the ground.

Root compaction is a slow death. Tree roots need oxygen. They grow in the top 12 to 18 inches of soil. When heavy equipment drives over the root zone, it compresses those air spaces and suffocates the roots. The tree cannot tell you it is happening. By the time the canopy shows stress, the root damage is 2 to 3 years old.

What to look for: Any construction work within the last 5 years that was within 15 feet of a large tree. Driveway extensions, patio installations, pool digs, utility trenching, grading changes. If the tree's canopy has been thinning since the work was done, the roots were likely damaged.

What to do: Get a professional assessment. If root damage is severe, the tree may need to come down before a storm finishes the job. If the damage is moderate, crown reduction pruning can reduce the load on the weakened root system and buy time.

6. Trees Already Leaning After Previous Storms

Some trees develop a lean after a storm and then stabilize. They look tilted but they hold. The problem is that the root system on one side has already failed. The tree is balancing on compromised roots, and the next big wind event does not need to be as strong as the first one to finish the job.

We see this every year in Lowell, Dracut, and Tewksbury — trees that leaned during a nor'easter in March and are still standing in June. The homeowner figures if it survived one storm, it can survive another. But the root system that held it through the first storm is weaker now. The second storm does not need to be as strong.

What to look for: Any tree that developed a lean after a previous storm. Soil heaving or cracking on the opposite side of the lean. A straight trunk tilting from the base (as opposed to a naturally curved trunk that compensates over time).

What to do: If the lean is new — developed in the last 1 to 3 years — and the tree is within falling distance of anything you care about, remove it. A tree that leaned and held is not necessarily stable. It is just a tree that has not met the right storm yet.

When to Call for an Assessment

You do not need to be a tree expert to spot most of these risks. Walk your property in late May or early June — before hurricane season kicks in — and look for the six issues above. If you see any of them, call us before the first storm, not after.

A preventive assessment is free. An emergency removal after the tree is on your house is not. We charge nothing to come out, look at your trees, and tell you honestly which ones are risks and which ones are fine. We do not push removals when pruning will do the job. Repeat customers are more valuable to us than one big emergency bill.

If you want the proactive route, a full property assessment takes about 30 minutes. We walk every tree on your lot, identify the risks, and give you a prioritized list with costs. You decide what to handle and when. No pressure.

What a Hurricane Actually Does to Trees in Middlesex County

Massachusetts does not get direct hurricane hits very often. What we get is the remnants: tropical moisture, sustained winds of 30 to 50 mph, and gusts that can hit 70 or 80 mph in the worst storms. That is enough to topple shallow-rooted trees, snap weakened trunks, and send dead branches through windows.

The types of damage we see most in our 18-town service area:

• Uprooted trees: Shallow-rooted species (white pine, silver maple, birch) go over root ball and all, especially in saturated soil
• Trunk failures: Trees with internal decay, co-dominant stems, or previous storm damage snap at the weak point
• Crown damage: Large limbs break off healthy trees under extreme wind load, especially deadwood that has been hanging in the canopy for years
• Cascading failures: One tree falls into another, which falls into a third, creating a domino effect through a wooded lot

After Hurricane Irene in 2011 and the October 2011 snowstorm, we worked 14-hour days for three weeks straight across Billerica, Chelmsford, Andover, and Lowell. Every call was a tree that could have been addressed in June. By October, the calendar was full and the wait times stretched to weeks.

Straight answers

Hurricane season is not a surprise. It comes every year, same window, same risks. The trees that cause the most damage are the ones nobody looked at until the wind was already blowing.

Call (978) 375-2272 for a free property assessment. We will walk your trees, tell you which ones are risks, and give you honest numbers. If everything looks fine, we will tell you that too. McDonald Tree Service. 8 Sycamore Ln, Billerica, MA 01821. Owner on every job since 1995.