Midwest Storm Season And Tree Damages

As much as weather forecasters try, weather in different parts of the world is unpredictable. Such is the case for the people who live in the Midwest. The weather is so extreme that snowfall and heatwaves can occur within the same week. What’s even worse is that the Midwest experiences storms throughout all four seasons. Severe weather is one of the most significant contributors to property and environmental damages. They affect houses, trees, street lights, or anything that stands in their way. As a result, commercial and residential properties commonly hit during the Midwest storm season have clean-up work plans for any damage.

Midwest Storm Season And Tree Damages

The most important thing to remember is to be aware of the places where you can seek shelter at home, work, or anywhere you could be when a warning hits. Furthermore, knowing when storms in the Midwest are likely to occur will help you secure your family’s safety and avoid potential damages to your property.

Tornado Season in the Midwest

These are one of the most destructive types of storms to occur in the Midwest. Generally, tornado season is said to be in the months of April, May, and June because these are the months the U.S. sees the most tornadoes. The peak tornado season in the upper Midwest (North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota) occurs in June or July. Although tornadoes can also happen at any time of day or night, most tornadoes occur in the evening.

The damage a tornado can cause can depend on its intensity and strength. It is measured through the Enhanced Fujita scale. This measurement system is used to identify the potential damage a tornado can cause. A tornado’s intensity is rated from EF0 to EF5. The EF0 being the lowest on the scale and EF5 being the highest.

EF0 – 65 to 85 mph winds: A minor property damage or tree branches are broken and power lines down while,
EF5 – 200+ mph winds: This can cause trees to be debarked with only large branches remaining, extensive destruction to high-rise buildings, schools, and houses.

Additional Source: Fujita Tornado Damage Scale

Hail Storm Season in the Midwest

Depending on the size of hail, hailstorms can cause a lot of damage, from cars to crops! This occurs during thunderstorms in the spring, summer, and fall seasons, but it mostly happens from May through September. A drop in temperature is a good indicator of a potential hailstorm.

Thunderstorms in the Midwest

When warm moist air is forced to rise into colder parts of the atmosphere from meeting a cold front head-on, a thunderstorm is likely to occur. Lightning occurs when a charge develops within the storm from tiny ice particles colliding together millions of times per second. Thunderstorms can lead to property damage when accompanied by high winds or hail. Thunderstorms are likely to happen in late spring, summer, and early fall. Additionally, months from May to July are the period when thunderstorms are expected to occur.

Winter Snow Storms

In the upper Midwest, wind and ice storms are common and often cause tremendous damage to individual trees and urban forests. Snowstorms are expected to occur in late fall, winter, and early spring. These storms can cause weakly attached branches to separate and rip trees apart. Trees with inadequate root systems may blow over or break off at the ground line.

Schedule a Property Evaluation After Any Type of Storm

No one can’t predict when precisely a violent storm will hit, especially those that come outside of storm season. However, we can approximate when it is likely to occur and what type of storm it will be. This can help homeowners prepare for it. When a storm occurs, it is expected that the affected area will suffer from property damages. Booking an appointment or contacting us will help you spot the damages any type of storm has caused to the trees on your property. Additionally, we can provide our insights about the urgency of repairing those damages. Before storms arrive, consider hiring an arborist – a tree care professional like us, to help you prune the branches of a tree that has the potential to cause damages to your property.

Additional Reading: Immediate Care for Storm-Damaged Trees

Omaha Tree Services

At Omaha Tree, our mission is to provide tree care services & mulch products that improve the HEALTH, BEAUTY, & SAFETY of our customers’ trees. We recycle all of our wood waste material from the trees we trim and remove in the greater Omaha metro area. The wood waste material is brought back to our 8-acre site at 3606 McKinley Street, where it is processed into a beautiful & consistent mulch product that is local, fresh, and clean. Contact us today.