Storm-Weakened Trees Pose a Hidden Risk as 2026 Hurricane Season Opens

The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season has begun, and despite a below-normal forecast, property owners in Western North Carolina should remain vigilant. Trees weakened by Hurricane Helene in 2024 may still pose a risk, and the time to assess them is now. Hollar Brothers Tree Service offers hazard-tree assessment and removal to help prevent storm damage.
The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season officially opened June 1 and runs through November 30. NOAA's outlook calls for a below-normal season, with 8 to 14 named storms, 3 to 6 hurricanes, and 1 to 3 of those reaching major strength. On paper, that reads like good news.

It isn't the whole story.

NOAA is careful to point out that a seasonal outlook is not a landfall forecast, and the agency's own National Weather Service director put it plainly this spring: it only takes one storm to turn a calm season into a destructive one. Western North Carolina already knows what that looks like. Helene was a single storm in late September 2024, and the damage it left across Alexander and Catawba counties is still being cleaned up nearly two years later.

The harder problem is the damage no one can see.

Many trees that were stressed or partially injured by Helene survived the winter and have now leafed out fully. From the ground, a tree like that can look as healthy as any other on the street. Underneath the canopy, though, the storm may have left cracked branch unions, a root plate that shifted in saturated soil, internal decay, or limbs that died and have yet to fall. A full summer canopy makes the situation worse, not better. All that leaf adds weight, and it catches wind like a sail. A tree weakened eighteen months ago can hold through quiet weather and then come down when the next tropical system pushes saturated ground and high gusts through the region.

The time to find those trees is now, while the sky is clear, rather than during the rush when every crew in the foothills is booked solid and a storm is already in the forecast.

A few warning signs are worth walking the property to check for:

- A noticeable lean, or soil heaving and cracking at the base of the trunk - Dead or hanging limbs, especially any positioned over a roof, driveway, or power line - Splits or cracks where a large limb meets the trunk - Foliage that looks sparse, thin, or off-color next to neighboring trees of the same kind - Mushrooms or other fungal growth at the base, which can signal root or internal decay

Any one of these is reason enough to have a tree looked at by someone trained to read it. Several of them on the same tree, particularly near a home, is reason to act before the season gets going.

A second caution is worth raising every year about this time. After a major storm, out-of-area crews tend to appear quickly, knocking on doors and offering fast cash work. Some are reputable. Many are not, and they leave town the moment the checks clear. Homeowners are far better served by a licensed, fully insured, established local company that will still be in the area long after the job is done and that stands behind the work.

Hollar Brothers Tree Service has served the Greater Hickory area for decades, with owners Scott and Jeremy Hollar present on every job. Services that matter most heading into storm season include hazard-tree assessment, dangerous and large tree removal, crane service, structural pruning, deadwood removal, and emergency storm response. Estimates are free.

A clear afternoon in early June is a good time to walk the yard and look up. The next storm will not announce itself in advance.

About Hollar Brothers Tree Service

Hollar Brothers Tree Service is a locally owned and fully insured tree care company based in Hickory, North Carolina, serving Alexander and Catawba counties. Services include tree and stump removal, pruning and trimming, structural pruning, stump grinding, hedgerow installation, land clearing, and emergency storm response.

Contact - Hollar Brothers Tree Service [https://hollartreeservices.com/]
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Company Name: Hollar Brothers Tree Service
Contact Person: Houston Harris
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Phone: (828) 320-3897
City: Hickory
Country: United States
Website: https://hollartreeservices.com

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