Zone1 Central Texas: Trees destroyed by ice.

[Zincwarrior]

So last week we had three days of ice storms, adding about .85 in of ice to everything. It's turned the entire region into a blast zone. 30% of people lost power for days. Generally everyone with a tree six feet tall or over has tree damage as if a Cat 2 hurricane came through.

We lost half of one of the fifty year old oaks in front, and a thirty foot crepe myrtle practically exploded in the back. It looks like the entire back yard is giant ten foot spikes to stop giants. These trees laughed when Harvey came through. It's crazy.

So how do states that get snow storms normally handle this? I don't remember this happening in Missouri or Tennessee. Its nuts.

 

[deannalw]

So last week we had three days of ice storms, adding about .85 in of ice to everything. It's turned the entire region into a blast zone. 30% of people lost power for days. Generally everyone with a tree six feet tall or over has tree damage as if a Cat 2 hurricane came through.

We lost half of one of the fifty year old oaks in front, and a thirty foot crepe myrtle practically exploded in the back. It looks like the entire back yard is giant ten foot spikes to stop giants. These trees laughed when Harvey came through. It's crazy.

So how do states that get snow storms normally handle this? I don't remember this happening in Missouri or Tennessee. Its nuts.

I've been through a couple ice storms. The first was when I was a kidlin in the desolation of a dismal village in the middle of no where. It lasted what seemed to be forever but caused little damage because it was a hell hole to begin with.

The second one was devastating- We hadn't been married long... seems like it was the mid 80's. Every single thing on earth, it seemed, was covered with a 1/2 or more coating of ice. It was one of the prettiest things I've ever seen. And most terrifying. Every tree branch, power/phone line and anything iced up groaned ominously when you dared to venture outside. We were out of water and power for more than a week. Ugh.

We basically handled it by whining and crying for a week.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

So how do states that get snow storms normally handle this?

They’re better prepared for it.

For such states that kind of weather happens every winter.

From the standpoint of climate, Texas is no longer in the ‘south.’

 

[Zincwarrior]

They’re better prepared for it.

For such states that kind of weather happens every winter.

From the standpoint of climate, Texas is no longer in the ‘south.’

What kind of trees do they have? We have oaks and murtles because they are good in Gulf storms. Are there trees that handle ice better?

 

[DudleySmith]

They’re better prepared for it.

For such states that kind of weather happens every winter.

From the standpoint of climate, Texas is no longer in the ‘south.’

Rubbish.

North Central Texas is famous for having probably the worst weather in the U.S., everything from sandstorms to ice storms to tornadoes and floods. the regions west of Wichita Falls to Paris is always being hit by some disaster or other, doesn't matter what time of year, either. It's pretty much a clear shot from southern Mexico all the way to the North Pole from here, with the Rockies to the west and Missouri/Arkansas hills to the east channeling fronts right to us, and the hot Gulf and Pacific weather fronts racing to collide with whatever gets funneled down from the Arctic.

The Great Plains is essentially a grass covered desert with nothing to stop fronts from rolling around for hundreds of miles with no natural barriers. We can go from sub-zero to 80 degrees in the same day, and have to keep three changes of clothes handy from Sept. to May.

As for trees, most have shallow roots systems here; it is one huge seabed with thin topsoil.

 

[Vastator]

I grew up in western New York, near the great lakes. Ice storms were semi regular. There's nothing more beautiful than waking up, and watching the sun rise over the rolling hills, and sending the frozen forest into a dazzling sparkle. It literally looks like everything is made of crystal. It really is a sight to behold.

 

[Grumblenuts]

Are there trees that handle ice better?

Nice list here, but perhaps not so applicable to Texas. I think the first item is messed up. Ironwood and Sweet Gum should be listed separately. I grew up climbing and falling out of what's now a huge sweet gum next door. From the list, I have:

----- Good
8 Arborvitae
3 Black walnut (which I hate - neighbor allowed them to grow wild, now absorbed into their fence)
1 Norway maple (meh)
6 Eastern hemlock (fantastic)
----- Okay
1 Ironwood (mine's terrible - might be a "Common hackberry" actually, dunno)
1 Burr Oak (fantastic)
2 Eastern white pine (huge -- bad for ice storms, terrific otherwise)
1 Red maple (cut leaf, dwarfish variety actually, marvelous)
1 Sugar maple (tough, but very messy, too sappy for firewood)
----- Bad
1 Black cherry (not good, but what the hell)
1 Pin oak (actually very tough, no problem with ice whatsoever)
1 Silver maple (terrible - draws ants, rots, splits)
---
Neighbor has a nice sycamore (great once well established) and a few Norway Spruce (same).

 

[CrusaderFrank]

They’re better prepared for it.

For such states that kind of weather happens every winter.

From the standpoint of climate, Texas is no longer in the ‘south.’

I thought it was warming and Canada was going to be the South?

 

[Zincwarrior]

Nice list here, but perhaps not so applicable to Texas. I think the first item is messed up. Ironwood and Sweet Gum should be listed separately. I grew up climbing and falling out of what's now a huge sweet gum next door. From the list, I have:

----- Good
8 Arborvitae
3 Black walnut (which I hate - neighbor allowed them to grow wild, now absorbed into their fence)
1 Norway maple (meh)
6 Eastern hemlock (fantastic)
----- Okay
1 Ironwood (mine's terrible - might be a "Common hackberry" actually, dunno)
1 Burr Oak (fantastic)
2 Eastern white pine (huge -- bad for ice storms, terrific otherwise)
1 Red maple (cut leaf, dwarfish variety actually, marvelous)
1 Sugar maple (tough, but very messy, too sappy for firewood)
----- Bad
1 Black cherry (not good, but what the hell)
1 Pin oak (actually very tough, no problem with ice whatsoever)
1 Silver maple (terrible - draws ants, rots, splits)
---
Neighbor has a nice sycamore (great once well established) and a few Norway Spruce (same).

Thank you. Yes most of the oak trees in Central Texas are pinoak, and cedar.

 

[Grumblenuts]

Thank you. Yes most of the oak trees in Central Texas are pinoak, and cedar.

Yw. I love cedars too, native to PA, have some, but they do get busted up somewhat in ice storms. Though tough, I have seen mature, tall pin oaks fall over during windy rainstorms. You'd think they'd have deep tap roots, but apparently not so much. We used to have dogwood, ash, beech, elm, cherry, chestnut, hickory, locust, magnolia, and catalpa galore around here. All now attacked by insects or some form of blight. Even the hemlocks are having a tough time. Luckily mine are so old and tall the blight gave up on them. Don't know why they mention Bradford pear in that list. They're just some relatively new, flowering junk that splits if you sneeze at it funny. The oldest, toughest trees around here are two Sickle pears quite near my house. One got smashed when half our old silver maple fell on it one winter. Looked the same as the other one again within five years. And they still produce pears like crazy. Come to think of it, no willows around any more either.. Them and tulip poplars.. split like crazy in ice storms..

 

[Synthaholic]

Yes he did!

 

[Synthaholic]