Winds and winter storms are a common occurrence. We should always expect that some trees will fall over (windthrow) or snap (windblow).
This is a very natural process in forests and helps make new habitats and space for smaller plants and younger trees to grow.
By contrast, extreme storms with windspeeds greater than 90 mph can sometimes have devastating impacts. These need to be carefully managed.
When such a storm damages enough trees it is termed a Major Windblow Event. Major windblow events can cause serious problems for forests and society such as:
- uprooting and breaking trees (also known as windblow)
- preventing emergency services access
- disrupting electricity, water, phone, gas services and public transport
