• Ice storms can cause severe damage to trees.Arthur Tilley/Creatas/Getty Images
  
  Violent storms can wreak havoc on trees. Heavy snows, strong winds and flooding can all create significant injury at different points in tree development. Young trees can be uprooted or hopelessly broken. Older trees can become cracked or lose weak limbs. Water damage can infuse roots with salt or contaminants. Some storm damage of trees can be prevented with bracing, staking or other measures of support. A careful assessment of your landscape trees in advance of storm season can help prevent losses.
  
  

Cold, Ice and Heavy Snow

• Winter damage brings special danger to landscape trees in almost every area of the United States. Heavy snowfall and ice storms can burden tree limbs to the breaking point at a time when their nutritional resources are at their lowest ebb. You can remove heavy snowfall from branches with a broom to prevent weighing down and breaking of tree limbs. Remove broken limbs with careful pruning. You can do this by cutting upward from the bottom of the branch about 12 inches away from the next branch, according to the University of Arkansas. You do not have to paint the wound with tree paint. Saving the tree after ice storm damage demands accessing whether a substantial amount remains undamaged and whether it will still be attractive and of value to the property
  
  

Windstorms, Tornados and Hurricanes

• Tornados arise in many areas across the mid-section of the United States and even down into Florida. Careful pruning of trees in advance of storm season can help to reduce damage and protect other trees in your yard. After a storm, remove hazards to people and properties. Most minor limb damage can be removed by simple pruning. You should minimize the wound from pruning whenever possible, according to Iowa State University. Leave heavier damage to an arborist. You may have to wait for the work, however, as tree professionals are in high demand after heavy storms. Those living in hurricane zones can see wind damage over a number of successive years, depleting trees' ability to bounce back from storm damage, giving them an unsightly appearance. It is particularly important to brace injured trees as soon as possible after the storm and to remove broken or uprooted trees to prevent injury to people walking nearby.
  
  

Flooding and Storm Surges

• Flooding can occur in any area with a nearby waterway. Swift, unpredictable flash floods can carry off newly planted trees and create a hazardous mess underneath established trees. The University of Minnesota Extension lists several types of flood damage that can affect trees, including changes in soil condition, interrupted gas exchange between trees and environment, sedimentation and physical damage. Removing damaged trees, resetting smaller trees back into the ground and removing debris around tree bases will allow trees to recover. Post-hurricane storm surges can also produce flood damage to trees, soaking the ground with salt near coastal areas and creating injury to root systems and foliage growth. Tree roots may require periodic flushing with water to neutralize salt deposits.