What the rule of thumb says
University of Missouri Extension offers the rule that if 50 percent of the limbs are damaged or gone, the tree will most likely need to be taken down. It adds that trees which rely on a single leader for their shape, such as pyramid-shaped conifers, usually should come out if the top has been lost well down the trunk.
It is a rule of thumb. Species, age, vigor, how clean the breaks are and where the tree stands change the answer.
Wait, then judge
The same source advises that if you are in doubt, wait, and notes that the tree's health may not be apparent until spring when the leaves come out. Do not remove a tree that might recover just because it looks bad. A tree that is no danger to anything can be given time.
That waiting does not apply to a tree that is leaning, cracked, split at the trunk or hanging over a building. Those should be made safe now. See heavy wet snow and broken limbs and storm and snow-load breakage.
What the arborist weighs
The arborist looks at the remaining structure, the size of the wounds compared with the limbs, decay at the breaks, the leader and the root zone. Restoration pruning follows the industry's ANSI A300 standard, which does not allow topping, and is done over time, not all at once.
Cabling or bracing may help a tree with sound wood keep a weakened limb. We cannot promise recovery or tell you a tree is safe from a description. In an emergency with a tree on a house, call 911 if anyone is hurt, NV Energy for a line, then 775.232.8243.
Sources
- University of Missouri Extension: Caring for Snow-Damaged Trees (read October 17, 2026)
- Tree Care Industry Association: ANSI A300 Part 1, Pruning (read October 17, 2026)