- Signs
- Hanging or broken limbs, snapped top, split fork or trunk, bark peeling from large wounds
- Removal guideline
- About half the crown damaged or removed, or a badly split trunk
- Local snow
- Annual snowfall normal 14.0 in. Carson City, 20.9 Reno airport, 46.4 Virginia City
- Risk ratings
- FEMA rates winter weather risk Very High in Washoe County and Relatively High in Carson City, Douglas and Lyon
- Safety
- 911 if anyone is hurt; NV Energy if a line is involved; then call us
A decision can wait until the danger has passed. Wet snow, ice and Washoe Zephyr winds break trees in Northern Nevada. The hazard is greatest in the first hours, when broken limbs are still caught in the crown. This page tells you what to look at, what an arborist checks and how the pruning or removal decision is made. It never replaces calling for help when someone is hurt or a line is down.
What should you do first?
Stay clear. Missouri Extension warns that bowed branches store a lot of energy and the fall angle is hard to predict, and that limbs hanging by a strip of bark can fall right at you. If anyone is hurt, call 911. If a branch or tree is touching or near a power line, stay away and call NV Energy. Otherwise call us at 775.232.8243: the phone is answered seven days a week and emergency service is available 24 hours. See emergency tree service and what to do when a tree falls on a house.
Do not climb, cut tension limbs or work under the crown yourself. Oklahoma State University Extension adds that trees which pose no short-term hazard do not need immediate removal, and that it is wise to wait for the growing season to decide about many damaged trees.
What does the damage look like?
Storm and snow damage shows up as hanging limbs, a snapped top or leader, a split fork or trunk, torn bark, or a leaning tree with heaving soil. The list below describes each sign.
- Limbs that are broken and hanging in the crown, the so-called widow-makers; see widow-makers and hanging limbs.
- A snapped top or leader. On a conifer, a pine without its main leader will not grow upward again, but spreads outward, according to Oklahoma State.
- A split in a fork or in the trunk itself, often visible as a crack running down the stem.
- Bark torn off in a long strip where a limb pulled away, or a trunk with a wound running around a large part of its circumference.
- A tree that has begun to lean, or soil heaving at the base.
Why does it happen here?
Snow is heavy when it is wet and it collects on full crowns. NOAA's normals put yearly snowfall at 14.0 inches in Carson City, 20.9 at the Reno airport and 46.4 at Virginia City, so exposure depends on where you are; see climate normals by station. FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates winter weather risk Very High in Washoe County and Relatively High in Carson City, Douglas and Lyon counties. Trees with weak forks, dead wood or decay in the trunk fail first. See Washoe Zephyr wind and trees and heavy snow and broken limbs.
What does an arborist check?
An arborist checks how much of the crown is gone or hanging, the size of the wounds, splits at forks and in the trunk, and any older decay that explains the failure. They also check what the tree could hit and the safest way to bring the damaged part down.
- How much of the crown is gone, and how much is hanging
- Whether main limbs and the leader are broken, and the size of the wounds
- Splits at forks and in the trunk, and whether bark has peeled around much of the circumference
- Decay or older defects that explain why this tree failed and the one next to it did not; see root and trunk decay
- What the tree could hit, and the safest way to bring the damaged part down
When is pruning or removal the answer?
Missouri Extension's rule of thumb is that if about half of the limbs are damaged or removed, the tree most likely should be removed. Oklahoma State says a severe split in the main trunk, or injury removing more than a third of the bark's circumference, usually puts a tree in severe jeopardy and may make removal necessary, and that a tree with more than half of its crown damaged has little chance of survival.
Many damaged trees need only pruning. Broken branches are cut back to sound wood, not left as stubs, and a damaged tree should never be topped, because the regrowth is weakly attached and breaks in the next storm. See tree trimming and pruning, cabling and bracing for a sound tree with a weak fork, and tree removal when the tree cannot be saved. After a storm, existing clients come first, but we serve anyone in need.
Sources
- University of Missouri Extension: Caring for snow-damaged trees (read October 17, 2026)
- Oklahoma State University Extension: Assessing, deciding and managing storm-damaged trees (read October 17, 2026)
- FEMA National Risk Index, county level (December 2025) (retrieved October 1, 2026)
- NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (retrieved October 1, 2026)