Why did the storm do so much damage?
Posted August 31, 2015 7:18 am.
Last Updated September 1, 2015 11:17 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
LOWER MAINLAND (NEWS 1130) – Wind speeds over the weekend only hit about 80km/h at the airport during the storm, which is nowhere near hurricane strength.
Still, it was very destructive, as evident with downed trees all over the region.
Brian Quinn with the Vancouver Park Board says there was a combination of factors that lead to the destruction.
Dry conditions in the previous months lead to trees being more vulnerable.
“The drought has a factor — no question,” says Quinn. “I think the biggest factor that influenced the failure in trees this time was typically we receive these kinds of winds in the fall and winter, when the trees are defoliated.”
“This time of year, with the trees, the canopy is completely full of leaves. They act more as a windsail and catch more of the wind. That’s probably the biggest factor that plays in this situation,” he explains.
He says lindens and cottonwoods are some of the trees causing the most problems. But even stronger trees like oaks are were torn down or damaged by the wind.
