The most destructive tree failures we respond to in Dane County do not happen in a summer thunderstorm — they happen in January, when an inch of ice or a foot of wet snow loads a weak limb until it snaps. The good news is that most of that damage is preventable with pruning done before the ground freezes.
What makes a limb fail under snow and ice
- Long, over-extended limbs with too much weight at the tip
- Tight V-shaped forks with included bark — they split under load
- Deadwood that is already brittle and holds no flex
- Dense, un-thinned canopies that catch and hold heavy snow
The fall checklist
Structural pruning in late fall removes the weak points before winter can exploit them. We focus on crown thinning to let snow fall through instead of piling up, shortening over-extended limbs, and clearing deadwood and anything hanging over the roof, driveway, or power drop.
If a limb is already over your house or a spot you park, do not wait for the first storm to tell you it was a problem. Clearance pruning now is a fraction of the cost of an emergency call-out at 2am with a tree on the roof.
When the storm still wins
Even well-maintained trees fail in a bad enough storm. If that happens, our emergency crew runs 24/7 with cranes and chippers staged and ready — no answering service, a real crew that answers and moves. But an afternoon of fall pruning is the cheapest insurance you can buy against ever needing that call.