Storm Damaged Tree Removal
Posted on 6th March 2020 at 13:13
Storm Damaged Tree Removal (Scots Pine) using Cedardale's 18m tracked cherry picker.
The start of 2020 saw three major storms blow across the UK, Storm Brendan, Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis, bringing high winds and heavy rain to many parts of the UK.
While healthy trees have a better chance of surviving storm damage, others can be damaged with limbs breaking or whole trees being uprooted.
Storm Brendan
Storm Brendan was a deep Atlantic low-pressure system that brought strong winds and heavy rain to the UK and Ireland on 13 January 2020. Named by Met Eireann, it was the second named storm of the 2019/2020 season.
Storm Ciara
Storm Ciara swept across the whole of the UK on Sunday 9 bringing heavy rain and very strong winds. The strongest gust recorded was 97 mph at the Needles, Isle of Wight. However, there were widespread gusts of 70 - 80 mph even in less exposed, inland sites, with a squall band of rain bringing some intense thundery downpours, and strong, squally winds.
Storm Dennis
Storm Dennis impacted the UK on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 February, just a week after Storm Ciara which also brought strong winds and heavy rain to the whole of the UK.
Often trees can appear undamaged after a storm, but on closer inspection, underlying issues which can affect the viability of the tree and the safety of those in its vacinity become apparent. Of the more obvious types of damage are:
Wind Throw - where a tree is pushed over by high winds, having an insufficient root base to support the canopy.
Crown Twist - caused by wind resistance and an uneven canopy
Stem Failure - trunks can snap or buckle under strees at a weak pont caused by an old injury or disease.
Root Failure - if the root plate becomes diseased, or the anchorage is compromised, storms will cause the tree to lean and fall.
Branch Failure - a natural occurance designed to protect the tree from external forces, minimizing the affect of further catastrophic storm damage.
If a tree is assessed to pose a risk post storm, particularly if it is in a public place with a likelyhood of endangering people or property, removal work often has to be completed.
When a tree like the Scots Pine below, suffers storm damage, Cederdale have a variety of specialised arboricultural equipment to use to safely remove the damged. Below you can see in sequence a storm damaged Scots Pine being removed using their 18m tracked cherry picker.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v1.0
Tagged as: Storm Damage
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