Tallahassee: 'A city that loves trees' will be tested by Hurricane Michael, barrage of wind

Tallahassee Democrat

On Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018 as Hurricane Michael makes landfall, trees, like the one pictured at the corner of Park Avenue and Meridian Street in Tallahassee are too weak to withstand the extreme wind.

Tallahassee is expected to get sustained winds of more than 74 mph and wind gusts close to 90 mph as Hurricane Michael bullets past.

In "Tree Town USA," that means there will be widespread uprooting and snapping of oaks and pines. Fallen limbs will take down power lines and trunks will cleave houses.

"We have a lot of trees here," said Lauren Nash, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, a city that has half of its land mass covered by canopy. "In terms of those trees, 100 mph can very easily uproot, break, snap, take down trees. Even healthy trees, that can knock them down."

Part of the problem comes from the soil being drenched, which can loosen tree roots and make it easier for them to topple over. That issue can linger even after the immediate threat has passed.

"A secondary situation people need to be aware of is the storm may be gone, but those trees were weakened due to high winds or a lot of torrential downpours," said Tallahassee Fire Department Deputy Chief Richard Jones. "Be vigil and if you see a tree that looks like it’s swaying, then watch out because they could fall."

News from the path of the storm:

But the trees aren't to blame, says Tallahassee-Leon County Urban Forester Mindy Mohrman.

"We have a vast tree resource, so afterward it seems like a lot. But when you look around the vast majority of trees are still standing and they’re still OK," she said. "In a storm like this when winds are very high, even a healthy strong tree might fall or might crack and that’s just the product of extreme weather."

Mohrman said the odds of getting hit by a downed tree are lower than the odds of getting struck by lightning.

"The majority of trees aren’t going to hurt you or cause damage," she said. "It would completely change our city if we feared trees. This is a city that loves trees."

Back story:Trouble in Tree Town USA