Wind Damage to Trees in Spokane — What Causes It, What To Do

Wind damages trees in three main ways: whole-tree failure (root plate or trunk gives up entirely), top-out failure (the top portion snaps off), and branch failure (individual limbs tear out). Each tells you something different about the tree.

Whole-tree blowdown usually means root failure was already in progress before the storm — the storm just finished the job. Look at the root plate: are the roots tan and healthy-looking, or are they rotted, dark, and short? Healthy roots ripped fresh from the soil mean the wind was just stronger than the anchor system. Rotted, decayed, or short roots mean the tree was failing long before the storm.

Top-out failures usually indicate weakness at a specific height — often where a co-dominant trunk split developed, where past topping created weak regrowth, or where internal decay weakened the trunk at a particular point. Spokane Ponderosa pines that lost their tops in past storms often had old pine beetle damage at the failure point.

Branch tear-outs happen at weak attachment points — included bark unions, co-dominant branches with poor angle, branches with end weight from heavy snow or fruit load. The species most prone to branch failure in Spokane are silver maple, Bradford pear, willow, and Siberian elm — all of which have weak wood and poor branch architecture.

Prevention is mostly about pre-storm pruning. Crown cleaning (removing deadwood), structural pruning of weak branch unions, and crown thinning to reduce wind load all reduce storm risk substantially. Annual or biennial pruning of high-risk trees over structures is the single best investment a homeowner can make in storm safety.