The remnants of Hurricane Ike cut a wide track through the heart of the country last weekend from Texas to Ohio, leaving wind-blown destruction in its wake. Certified arborists explain why the storm knocked over or damaged so many trees in Northeast Ohio on Sunday.
What made the storm so destructive?
Typically, short, intense bursts of wind damage trees in concentrated areas, said Alan Siewert, urban forester with the state Division of Forestry. But Sunday's storm stretched across an unusually broad area and brought powerful winds that blew for three to four hours.
"It was unique as a sustained event," Siewert said. "Those winds started blowing in the middle of the afternoon and just kept going. Everybody in Northeast Ohio got hit by a good part of this one."
What made the trees so vulnerable?
Weak and diseased trees had weathered few other windstorms over the past two years, said Alan Shauck of Edwards Tree Service in Amherst, and president of Ohio's chapter of certified arborists.
"A lot of trees that would have normally blown down a long time ago were still standing," Shauck said.
Did any other factors contribute to the problem?
Yes. Eight weeks of dry weather west of Cleveland, where some of the hardest-hit cities are located, left branches, roots and trunks dry, brittle and easier to break, Shauck said.
Sunday's storm also blew hot winds out of the South, exposing and weakening parts of trees that rarely experienced such forces. Most storms come out of the West or Southwest in summer, and the North or Northeast in winter.
Why did some old trees survive and others fall?
Some types of trees are stronger than others, Siewert said. Oaks tend to be stronger than maples. And flowering pears, so popular and beautiful in spring and fall, are weakest of all.
"Pears have very brittle wood," Siewert said. "Anyone can grow them. But after 15 years, just as they're becoming a valuable part of the landscape, they'll snap and break your heart."