When a winter storm rolls through South Jersey, the morning after tells the same story every time. Branches scattered across yards. Trees split down the middle. Entire root balls ripped out of the ground, leaving craters where shade trees used to stand.
But here is what most people do not notice: it is the same species causing problems year after year. The same structural patterns. The same predictable failures. Walk any neighborhood in Gloucester County or Camden County after a nor’easter, and you will see the same trees down on the same streets, while other species stand through it without losing a twig.
This is not random. Some tree species are built for winter storms. Others are built to fail in them. If you know which trees on your property fall into the high-risk category, you can take action before the next storm does the choosing for you.
Here are the trees most likely to come down during a New Jersey winter storm, ranked from highest risk to lowest.
Tier 1: Highest Risk
These species have fundamental structural characteristics that make them prone to failure during winter storms. If any of these trees are near your house, driveway, or other valuable targets, they deserve priority attention.
1. Dead Ash Trees (Emerald Ash Borer Killed)
Risk factor: Extreme brittleness after death
A dead ash tree is the single most dangerous tree you can have on your property during a winter storm. Bar none.
The emerald ash borer has killed ash trees across New Jersey, leaving standing dead trunks in neighborhoods, parks, and yards throughout South Jersey. What makes dead ash uniquely dangerous is how quickly the wood loses its structural integrity after the tree dies. Unlike oaks or maples that retain some strength for years after death, ash wood dries out and becomes extremely brittle in a remarkably short time.
Dead ash branches snap without warning in moderate wind. The trunk can break cleanly in gusts that would not bother a healthy tree. Climbing a dead ash for removal is one of the most hazardous jobs in the industry because the wood can fracture under a climber’s weight.
In a winter storm with wind, ice, or heavy snow, a dead ash near your house is not a risk. It is a near certainty. If you have a standing dead ash on your property, remove it now. Do not wait for winter.
2. Bradford Pear (Callery Pear)
Risk factor: Structurally defective branch architecture
Bradford pears were covered in detail in an earlier post, but they deserve the number two spot on this list because of how consistently they fail during winter storms.
Their tight, V-shaped branch unions create weak connection points that split apart under ice load, snow weight, or moderate wind. Ice storms are particularly devastating to Bradford pears because ice accumulates on every branch, and the added weight on already-weak unions pushes them past their breaking point.
A Bradford pear does not lose a branch during a winter storm. It loses half the tree. The entire side splits away from the trunk, bringing with it everything in its path.
Most of the Bradford pears planted in South Jersey during the 1980s and 1990s are now at or past their functional lifespan, making them even more vulnerable. New Jersey has banned future sales of this species for good reason.
3. Silver Maple
Risk factor: Soft, brittle wood + shallow roots + codominant stems
Silver maples check every box on the winter storm risk list. Their wood is softer and more brittle than other maple species. They frequently develop codominant stems with included bark, creating a natural splitting point. Their branches are long and heavy, extending far from the trunk. And their root system is shallow, making them vulnerable to uprooting in saturated or frozen soil.
During ice storms, silver maples accumulate ice across their broad canopies and do not have the wood strength to support the added weight. Large limb failures are common. During high-wind events, their shallow root plates can pull out of soft ground, bringing the entire tree down.
Silver maples are one of the most common yard trees in South Jersey, which is why they show up on so many storm damage reports. If you have one near a structure, regular pruning to reduce branch weight and canopy density is essential winter preparation.
4. Willow
Risk factor: Extremely weak wood + aggressive but shallow roots
Willows grow fast and break fast. Their wood is among the weakest of any common landscape tree. Branches snap in moderate wind events that other trees barely register. During ice storms, willows lose limbs continuously as ice accumulates.
Willows are also prone to trunk splitting and uprooting because their rapid growth produces wood that lacks the density and fiber strength of slower-growing species. Their root systems, while aggressive and wide-spreading, are shallow and do not provide the deep anchoring needed to resist windthrow.
If you have a large willow near your house, it is a high-priority tree for winter storm evaluation. In many cases, removal and replacement with a sturdier species is the best long-term investment.
Tier 2: Elevated Risk
These species are not as structurally weak as Tier 1, but they have specific characteristics that make them more vulnerable than average during winter storms.
5. Eastern White Pine
Risk factor: Extreme height + shallow root plate + snow and ice retention
White pines are the tallest trees in many South Jersey neighborhoods, sometimes reaching 80 feet or more. That height, combined with a relatively shallow root system, makes them vulnerable to windthrow, especially when the ground is saturated from winter rain or snowmelt.
Unlike deciduous trees that drop their leaves before winter, pines retain their needles year-round. Those needles catch and hold snow and ice, adding enormous weight to the canopy. A mature white pine coated in ice can be carrying thousands of extra pounds.
The combination of height, retained canopy, shallow roots, and heavy ice loading makes white pines one of the most common species to fail during winter ice events in the Northeast.
6. Pin Oak
Risk factor: Retained dead branches + included bark tendency
Pin oaks are a popular landscape tree, but they have two traits that increase their winter storm risk compared to other oak species.
First, pin oaks are notorious for retaining dead lower branches. These dead branches become brittle and can snap off during any wind or ice event, falling on whatever is below them. A pin oak with a full complement of dead lower limbs is essentially loaded with projectiles waiting for the next storm.
Second, pin oaks tend to develop included bark at branch unions more frequently than white oaks or red oaks. Included bark weakens the connection and creates a natural failure point during storms.
Regular crown cleaning to remove dead branches and structural pruning to address included bark unions can significantly reduce the winter storm risk from pin oaks.
7. Green Ash (Living but Stressed)
Risk factor: Weakened by emerald ash borer stress
Even green ash trees that are still alive but infested by emerald ash borer are at elevated risk during winter storms. The beetle’s larvae disrupt the tree’s ability to transport water and nutrients, weakening the wood and making it more prone to failure under stress.
An ash tree that looks somewhat healthy but has been losing canopy density over the past few years is likely infested and structurally compromised. These trees can fail during moderate winter wind events that healthy trees would handle easily.
If you have ash trees that you suspect are infested, have them evaluated by a certified arborist before winter.
8. Sweetgum
Risk factor: Codominant stems + included bark + shallow aggressive roots
Sweetgum trees develop codominant stems and included bark frequently, creating the same splitting risk seen in silver maples and Bradford pears. Their root systems are shallow and aggressive, which provides less anchoring stability than deep-rooted species.
During ice storms, sweetgum canopies accumulate weight, and the weak branch unions cannot support it. During high-wind events, the shallow roots make them candidates for uprooting, particularly in the clay-heavy soils found in parts of South Jersey.
Tier 3: Moderate Risk
These species have some vulnerability but generally perform better than Tier 1 and Tier 2 trees during winter storms.
9. Red Maple
Risk factor: Moderate ice sensitivity + codominant stems in some specimens
Red maples are harder and stronger than silver maples, but they are not immune to winter storm damage. Specimens with codominant stems or included bark can split during ice events. Red maples also develop dense canopies that catch and hold more ice than species with coarser branching.
Properly pruned red maples with a single dominant leader and well-spaced branches handle winter storms reasonably well. Neglected specimens with multiple competing leaders are at higher risk.
10. Red Oak
Risk factor: Dense canopy retention in some years + heavy limbs
Red oaks are generally strong, storm-resistant trees. Their wood is dense and their branch attachments are typically well-formed. However, red oaks can retain some of their dead leaves through winter (a trait called marcescence), which adds surface area for ice accumulation.
Red oaks also develop large, heavy limbs that carry significant weight. If those limbs have defects (old topping cuts, cavities, included bark), they can fail during severe ice storms even though the species is generally considered storm-resistant.
Tier 4: Most Storm Resistant
These species consistently perform well during NJ winter storms and are excellent choices for planting if storm resistance is a priority.
White Oak
White oaks have dense, strong wood, deep root systems, and well-attached branches. They are among the most wind-resistant and ice-resistant trees in the eastern United States. A healthy white oak can stand through almost anything a New Jersey winter throws at it.
Bald Cypress
Bald cypress trees have a conical form that sheds snow and ice efficiently, strong wood, and excellent root anchoring. They are virtually immune to winter storm damage under normal conditions.
American Beech
Beeches have smooth bark that sheds ice, dense wood, and a broad but well-structured canopy. They handle ice storms and heavy snow well.
Black Walnut
Black walnuts have a coarse branching structure that accumulates less ice than fine-branched species. Their wood is strong and their branch unions are typically well-formed.
Eastern Red Cedar
These native evergreens have a conical shape that sheds snow and a flexible branch structure that bends rather than breaks under ice load. They are among the most winter-resilient evergreens in the region.
What You Can Do Before Winter
Knowing which species are on your property and understanding their vulnerabilities is the first step. Here is what to do with that knowledge.
Identify your highest-risk trees. Walk your property and note any Tier 1 or Tier 2 species that are within striking distance of your house, garage, driveway, fence, or neighbor’s property.
Remove dead trees immediately. Dead ash trees, dead oaks, and any other standing dead tree near a target should be removed before winter. There is no amount of pruning or monitoring that makes a dead tree safe during a storm.
Prune for storm resistance. Crown thinning reduces the canopy’s ability to catch and hold wind, snow, and ice. Crown cleaning removes dead branches that are likely to fail first during a storm. Both of these services should be done before winter arrives.
Have high-risk trees professionally inspected. A certified arborist can evaluate the specific condition of your trees, identify hidden defects, and recommend whether pruning, cabling, monitoring, or removal is the right course of action.
Grind old stumps. Stumps left from previously removed trees can be tripping hazards during storm cleanup and can interfere with the root health of nearby living trees. Stump grinding finishes the job and clears the site.
Prepare Your Property Now
Every winter storm season, the homeowners who prepared come through with minimal damage. The homeowners who did not are the ones calling for emergency tree service at 2 AM.
Bumblebee Tree Service provides free tree evaluations, professional tree pruning, tree removal, and stump grinding across South Jersey, including Washington Township, Gloucester Township, Deptford, Glassboro, Swedesboro, Cherry Hill, and the surrounding areas.
Do not wait for the forecast. Let us evaluate your trees and help you prepare before winter arrives.
