Saturated soil plus high wind is the combination that takes trees down here. Roots lose their grip in wet ground and the canopy acts as a sail. Even healthy-looking trees become unstable after prolonged rain.
Related: Emergency tree service in Wimberley and the Hill Country.
What to check around the house
Walk the trees near the house, the driveway, vehicles, fences and anywhere people gather, and look for a tree leaning more than it was, exposed or lifting roots on one side, cracks opening in the soil around the base, hanging or broken limbs still up in the canopy, split trunks or branch unions, and fresh cracks in major limbs.
Signs of decay
Check the base of trunks and major limbs for mushrooms or conks, soft or hollow wood, peeling bark and dead branches. Fungal growth usually means internal rot, and decay affects stability well before it becomes obvious from outside.
What commonly fails here
Broken oak limbs, uprooted trees with shallow root plates, split cedar elms and junipers, hidden trunk decay, and erosion around root zones. Large mature oaks, cedar elms, Ashe junipers and pecans are the most vulnerable.
What not to do
Do not start cutting storm-damaged wood. It is under tension in ways that are hard to read, and a limb under compression will close on a saw or spring back hard. This is how people get seriously hurt after storms. See emergency tree service.
Why Hill Country trees fail in storms
Local terrain here is rocky limestone and steep slopes. Thin soil over rock produces wide, shallow root plates rather than deep anchoring roots, so saturated ground plus high wind lifts trees that looked completely sound. That combination, heavy rain followed by wind, is what fills our schedule every spring.
It also means the usual visual checks are less reliable here than elsewhere. A trunk can be perfectly healthy while the root plate underneath it has very little to hold on to.
The full walk-around
At the base. Soil cracking or heaving on one side, exposed or lifted roots, fungal conks, and any gap opening between soil and trunk. If the ground is lifting on one side after wind, treat failure as imminent and stay out from under it.
On the trunk. Fresh cracks, split branch unions, bark peeling away to reveal dusty grey or brown underneath, and soft or hollow wood.
In the canopy. Hanging limbs still lodged in the tree are the classic post-storm hazard, because they can come down hours or days later with no warning. Look for broken tops and limbs resting on other limbs.
Underneath. Work out where a limb would actually land. Anything over a roof, a vehicle, a driveway or a play area moves up the priority list regardless of how bad it looks.
Why not to cut it yourself
Storm-damaged wood is under tension in ways that are very hard to read from the ground. A limb under compression will close on a saw and trap it; one under tension will spring back hard when released. Professional-grade equipment and knowing which way the load runs is most of what keeps this safe, and it is how people get seriously hurt after storms.
If a tree is on a power line, call the utility first. Nobody should be touching an energized line.
Insurance
General liability insurance is what stands behind damage to your property if something goes wrong during the work. Ask for the certificate before anyone climbs, and read what is on it.
Something looks wrong after the storm?
Send a photo. We will tell you whether it needs dealing with today or whether it can wait, and we do not charge to look.