A storm just came through. What should I check?

From a distance first: wires, trees on the house, limbs hanging in the crown. Then photograph the damage before anything is moved. A tree that fell and hit nothing can wait; one on the house, on a line, or leaning toward the house with its roots lifting cannot.

After a Storm in Metro Atlanta: Tree Checklist

Why Atlanta keeps doing this

Metro Atlanta’s neighborhoods are built among tall trees, and its storms come in more than one season. Georgia’s insurance regulator puts tornado season from March 1 to the end of May and hurricane season from June through November, and FEMA rates the ice-storm risk of several metro counties as well. Each county page on this site shows those ratings and how often the National Weather Service’s wind reports there mention trees.

The order to check things

Wires. Anything on or near a line: keep away, call Georgia Power at 1-888-891-0938, your EMC, or 911.
The house. A tree on the roof or against a wall: get people out of those rooms. See Tree on the house.
Standing trees leaning toward the house. Look at the ground on the side away from the lean. Soil lifted or cracked there means the roots have let go, and the tree can finish falling. See Leaning tree.
Hanging limbs. Broken limbs caught in the crown fall later, often days later, in a breeze. Keep people and cars out from under them. See Hanging limb.
Everything on the ground. Trees and limbs that fell and hit nothing are a cleanup job, not an emergency.

Photograph before moving anything

The regulator tells homeowners to report claims promptly, to make reasonable repairs that keep more damage out, and to keep receipts for labor and materials. Photographs taken before the cleanup show what the tree hit and how. Get the root plate or the break, the path of the fall and every structure touched.

Trees that look fine

The International Society of Arboriculture warns that trees that survived a storm can still be damaged in ways that show up later: cracked limbs, split forks, loosened roots. A tree that took a hard hit and stands near the house is worth having an arborist look at once the urgent jobs are done. See Having a tree checked.

What can wait

Limbs on the lawn, a tree across the back of the lot, brush along the fence. Crews are stretched after a big storm, and the jobs above come first for them too. Say clearly on the call which kind you have.

Checked against the sources below on 2026-10-11.