How to Prepare Your Trees for Hurricane Season in the Carolinas

Hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30, and even though Charlotte sits about 175 miles inland from the coast, the city is not safe from tropical weather. Hurricane Hugo hit Charlotte head-on in September 1989 as a Category 1 storm with sustained winds near 80 mph and gusts over 100 mph. It destroyed an estimated 80,000 trees across Mecklenburg County in a single night. More recently, Hurricane Florence in 2018 and Hurricane Helene in 2024 brought damaging winds and heavy rain to the Charlotte metro, dropping trees across roads, onto houses, and into power lines.

You cannot stop a hurricane. But you can prepare your trees before one arrives, and that preparation can be the difference between a tree that survives the storm and one that crashes through your roof. Here is how to get your trees ready for hurricane season in the Charlotte area.

Charlotte's Hurricane Risk Is Real

Many Charlotte homeowners think of hurricanes as a coastal problem. But the Piedmont region of North Carolina takes a direct hit from tropical systems more often than people realize. Charlotte does not get the storm surge and the full-strength winds the coast sees, but the city regularly gets tropical storm-force winds (40 to 73 mph) and heavy rainfall from systems that push inland.

Between the named storms, Charlotte also deals with severe thunderstorms from April through September. These storms produce straight-line winds that can exceed 60 mph, microbursts, and occasional tornadoes. The damage to trees looks the same whether the wind came from a hurricane or a summer thunderstorm. Preparation for one covers you for all of them.

The specific risk to your property depends on where you live. Open areas in Mooresville and the Lake Norman corridor get more sustained wind exposure than sheltered neighborhoods in South Charlotte. Properties surrounded by tall trees in Ballantyne, Weddington, and Marvin face more risk from falling trees and large limbs than properties on open lots. Every property is different, and your preparation should be based on your specific trees and their proximity to your home.

Pre-Season Tree Inspection Checklist

Walk your property in late April or May, before hurricane season starts, and look at every tree within striking distance of your house, garage, driveway, fence, and power lines. Here is what to check.

Dead and Hanging Branches

Look up into the canopy. Dead branches are the most likely to fall in a storm, and they can fall with much less wind than it takes to break a live branch. Dead branches have no leaves during the growing season, the bark may be peeling or missing, and the wood underneath is often gray or brittle. Hanging branches, sometimes called "widow makers," are branches that have partially broken but are still caught in the canopy. These are extremely dangerous in any wind event. Have dead and hanging branches removed by a professional before storm season starts.

Signs of Decay and Disease

Look at the trunk and major limbs for mushrooms, conks (shelf-like fungal growths), soft or spongy wood, cavities, and large areas of missing bark. Any of these indicate internal decay that weakens the tree's ability to stand up to wind. Charlotte's humidity promotes wood-decaying fungi, and a tree that looks solid from the outside can be hollow inside. For more on what to watch for, read our guide on signs your tree is dead or dying.

Root Problems

Check the base of the tree where it meets the ground. Look for soil heaving on one side (which can indicate the root plate is lifting), exposed or severed roots, and mushrooms growing at the root flare. Trees with compromised root systems are the ones most likely to uproot entirely in a storm. Charlotte's clay soil makes this worse because the shallow root systems of many trees never develop the deep anchoring roots they would in sandier soil. If you have concerns about roots near your foundation, see our article on tree root problems and foundations.

Lean

Many trees grow with a natural lean and are perfectly stable. But a lean that has developed recently, especially after a previous storm, is a warning sign. If the ground on one side of the trunk is cracked or heaving, the tree may be in the process of uprooting. A tree with a new or worsening lean within fall distance of your home should be evaluated by a professional before storm season.

Co-Dominant Stems

Many trees in Charlotte, especially oaks and maples, have two main trunks that split from the same point, forming a V-shape. If the junction between these co-dominant stems has bark growing down into it (called "included bark") instead of a solid ridge of wood, the connection is structurally weak. These are the splits you see after storms where half the tree comes apart from the other half. Cabling and bracing can reinforce these junctions, or the weaker stem can be removed.

Pruning for Wind Resistance

The goal of storm-prep pruning is not to make your trees smaller. It is to make them more aerodynamic and less likely to catch wind like a sail. Here is what professional pruning for wind resistance involves.

• Crown thinning: Selectively removing interior branches to reduce the density of the canopy. This allows wind to pass through the tree instead of pushing against a solid wall of leaves and branches. A properly thinned tree can handle much higher wind speeds than an unthinned one.
• Deadwood removal: Taking out all dead, dying, and broken branches. These add weight without adding structural strength.
• Crown raising: Removing lower branches to reduce the overall wind load. This is especially useful for trees near structures.
• Reducing end weight: Shortening long, heavy limbs that extend far from the trunk. The farther out from the trunk, the more force wind has to break a branch.

Important: do not "lion tail" your trees. This means stripping all the interior branches and leaving growth only at the tips, like a lion's tail. This is a common mistake made by inexperienced crews and it actually makes trees more vulnerable to wind damage, not less. The interior branches provide structure and distribute wind load. You want to thin the canopy, not strip it bare. For proper tree trimming and pruning, hire a company that understands the difference.

Which Trees Handle Storms the Worst

Some tree species in the Charlotte area are significantly more vulnerable to storm damage than others. If you have any of these on your property, they should be your first priority for pre-season inspection and pruning.

Bradford Pears

Bradford pears are the worst storm tree in Charlotte. They are everywhere because they were planted in massive numbers from the 1970s through the 2000s, and they fail in storms with depressing regularity. The problem is their branch structure: Bradford pears grow with tight, V-shaped crotches that are inherently weak. In any significant wind event, they split apart. You have seen this after every storm: Bradford pears split down the middle, with half the tree on the ground and the other half standing. If you have a Bradford pear within fall distance of your home, seriously consider having it removed before it removes itself in a storm.

Loblolly Pines

Charlotte's dominant pine species is also one of its most storm-vulnerable. Loblolly pines grow tall and top-heavy with shallow root systems in Charlotte's clay soil. They are the first trees to blow over in saturated ground conditions. After Hurricane Hugo, the majority of the 80,000 trees lost in Mecklenburg County were pines. For a full discussion, see our guide on pine tree removal in Charlotte.

Water Oaks

Water oaks are fast-growing but short-lived compared to white oaks and red oaks. They are prone to internal decay, especially as they age past 50 or 60 years. Many of the large oaks that fail in Charlotte storms are water oaks that looked healthy from the outside but were hollow or rotten inside.

Sweetgums

Sweetgums have relatively weak wood and are prone to dropping large branches. They also tend to develop included bark at major branch junctions, making them susceptible to splitting.

Trees That Handle Storms Well

On the other hand, some Charlotte trees are remarkably wind-resistant. Live oaks (less common this far north but present in some Charlotte neighborhoods), bald cypress, southern magnolia, and well-maintained white oaks tend to survive storms that take down other species around them. If you are planting new trees, choosing wind-resistant species is a long-term investment in storm protection.

Cabling and Bracing

For valuable trees that have structural weaknesses but are otherwise healthy, cabling and bracing can provide supplemental support. A steel cable installed between co-dominant stems or between a heavy limb and the trunk limits how far the weak point can move in wind. Bracing rods, installed through the junction itself, reinforce the connection from the inside.

Cabling and bracing are not DIY projects. They require an arborist who understands tree biomechanics and the specific hardware systems used. A properly installed cable system costs $200 to $800 per tree and can extend a tree's safe life by decades. It is much cheaper than emergency removal after a failure.

What to Do When a Storm Is Coming

When a tropical system or severe storm is in the forecast for the Charlotte area, do what you can in the 24 to 48 hours before it arrives.

• Pick up loose items in your yard that could become projectiles: patio furniture, grills, potted plants, toys, and loose garden tools
• Park vehicles away from large trees if possible
• Close and secure all windows, doors, and garage doors
• If you have a dead tree or a tree you know is in bad shape, it is too late to have it removed before the storm. Move to the opposite side of your home from the tree when the storm hits.
• Do not attempt to cut branches or do tree work with a storm approaching. Leave it for after.

What to Do After the Storm

After a major storm passes through Charlotte, resist the urge to immediately go outside and start cleaning up. Downed power lines may be hidden under branches. Trees that are partially fallen may shift and fall further. Broken branches overhead may be ready to drop.

Immediate Safety Steps

• Stay away from any downed power lines and any trees or branches touching them. Call Duke Energy (800-769-3766) to report downed lines.
• Do not walk under damaged trees. Look up before you walk anywhere.
• If a tree is on your house, do not enter the house from the side where the tree is. Get out safely and call your insurance company and an emergency tree service.
• Take photos and video of all damage before cleanup starts. Your insurance company will need this.

Getting Emergency Tree Work Done

After a major storm, every tree service company in the Charlotte area is slammed with calls. Wait times of days to weeks are normal. Prioritize by safety: trees on structures, trees on power lines, and trees blocking your driveway come first. A tree that fell in the open yard can wait.

Watch out for storm chasers. After every big storm, out-of-town crews descend on Charlotte offering cheap tree removal. Many are unlicensed, uninsured, and will do poor work or take your money and disappear. Before hiring anyone for post-storm tree work, verify they have insurance and get a written estimate. Read our guide on choosing a tree service company and our article on tree service scams in Charlotte to protect yourself.

The Cost of Doing Nothing

Pre-season tree work costs money. A full property inspection by an arborist runs $150 to $500. Pruning a large tree for wind resistance costs $300 to $1,500. Removing a hazardous tree before a storm costs whatever tree removal costs for that species and size.

But consider the alternative. Emergency tree removal after a storm costs 50% to 100% more than scheduled removal because of demand, urgency, and the more dangerous conditions. A tree through your roof means a $5,000 to $50,000 insurance claim, months of disruption, and potentially higher premiums afterward. A tree on your car is a total loss. And a tree on a person is a tragedy that no amount of money fixes.

Spending a few hundred dollars in May to deal with a hazardous tree is one of the smartest things a Charlotte homeowner can do before hurricane season.