Title: Human fatalities from wind-related tree failures in the United States

Summary: There were 407 deaths from wind-related tree failures in the United States, 1995-2007. The most common storm type causing tree failure was a thunderstorm (41%), followed by nonconvective high winds (35%), tropical cyclones (14%), tornadoes (7%), and snow and ice (3%). Most (62%) deaths were males with the median age of those killed at 44 years of age. Risk of death may be reduced if severe weather warnings and preparedness materials emphasize the need to remain indoors during all high winds events. Risk may also be reduced by maintaining tree risk management programs in public spaces and inspecting private trees regularly for structural defects.

Thomas Schmidlin, Ph.D., Certified Consulting Meteorologist, Kent State University, Department of Geography, Kent, OH, United States

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