If your lawn has looked more brown than green this summer, you are not imagining it. Much of Maryland and Northern Virginia has spent the season in drought, and that stress does not stop at the grass. Trees absorb the same lack of water, and a tree that has spent weeks conserving moisture is a different structure than a healthy one once the wind picks up. The storm-damaged trees homeowners across Maryland deal with each year are rarely random. Most were already weaker than they looked before the storm arrived.
Hurricane season runs through the end of November, and forecasters are calling this one below-normal, which sounds reassuring until you remember that even a quiet season only needs one storm to reach your yard. Combine that with drought-stressed trees across the region, and late summer is worth watching before the next line of storms rolls through. This guide walks through what drought does to a tree, the warning signs worth watching for, and what to do if a storm has already found the weak spot first.
How This Summer’s Drought Is Weakening Trees Across Maryland and Virginia
What Drought Stress Does to a Tree Underneath the Surface
Drought stress starts underground, long before a leaf ever changes color. When the soil dries out, roots cannot pull up enough water to keep the whole structure hydrated, so the tree starts making trade-offs. It closes the small pores on its leaves, called stomata, to slow water loss, which also slows photosynthesis and the tree’s ability to build new energy. Research from University of Maryland Extension on drought and heat stress notes that prolonged dry spells can cause lasting damage, not just a temporary wilt that bounces back with the next rain. The longer the dry period continues, the more a tree runs on reserves instead of building new, strong wood.
Why a Weakened Tree Is More Likely to Fail in Wind and Rain
A tree that has been rationing water for weeks does not have the structural reserves a healthy one does. Wood that should be dense and flexible can turn brittle during a drought, and root systems already stretched thin have less to hold onto when saturated soil turns soft after heavy rain. That combination, brittle wood above ground and a weaker anchor below it, is exactly what turns an ordinary summer storm into a fallen limb or a toppled tree. It is why the same wind a healthy tree shrugs off can bring down one that spent the summer under stress.
What Are the Warning Signs a Tree Won’t Survive the Next Storm?
The clearest signs of a struggling tree usually show up in the canopy and trunk before a storm ever puts them to the test. Watch for browning leaf edges that do not recover overnight, thinning patches in the canopy, and branches that have dropped their leaves early while the rest of the tree still looks full. At the trunk and root flare, look for cracks, soft or crumbly bark, mushroom-shaped growths, and soil that has pulled away from the base. None of these signs guarantee a tree will fail in the next storm, but together they make a reasonable case for having a professional take a look before the wind picks up, not after.
Signs in the Canopy and Leaves
Leaf scorch, the crisping and browning along the outer edges of leaves, is often the first visible sign of drought stress and one of the easiest to spot. Wilting that does not bounce back by morning, rather than the normal afternoon droop on a hot day, is another signal worth taking seriously. Some species, like yellow poplar, drop leaves early in July or August as a survival response, which can look alarming even though it is a defense mechanism rather than failure. The real concern is a canopy thinning unevenly or losing whole sections, not stress spread evenly across the tree.
Signs in the Trunk and Root Flare
A trunk with vertical cracks, peeling bark, or soft spots that give under pressure is telling you something structural is already compromised. Fungal growth at the base, sometimes shelf-like or mushroom-shaped, is a sign of decay working through the wood from the inside. Soil that has visibly lifted or cracked away from the root flare can point to a root system that is no longer anchoring the tree properly. Any one of these signs is worth a call, and several together are worth a same-week appointment, not a someday one.
What This Season’s Storm Outlook Means for Maryland’s Storm-Damaged Trees
A Below-Normal Season Doesn’t Mean a Safe One
NOAA’s 2026 Atlantic hurricane season outlook calls for a below-normal year, largely because of a strong El Niño pattern working against storm development. That sounds like good news, and in terms of raw storm counts it likely is, but a below-normal season is not the same as a storm-free one. The season already produced its first two named systems this summer, and forecasters have been clear that a single storm reaching a populated area can still cause serious, concentrated damage regardless of the overall season. For a homeowner, the takeaway is not to relax because the season is forecast to be quieter, but to use the calmer stretches to get ahead of any trees already vulnerable.
Why Late Summer and Early Fall Are Still High-Risk Months
Hurricane season runs from June through the end of November, but the historical peak stretches from mid-September through October, right as this year’s drought continues to build across Maryland and Virginia. That timing matters because the trees under the most stress are heading into the stretch of the season most likely to bring a significant storm. A tree that quietly struggled through a dry July and August is not getting stronger heading into September, it is getting weaker at exactly the wrong time. That overlap, not the total number of storms predicted, is the real reason this season deserves attention.
What You Can Do Now to Protect Your Property Before the Next Storm
Watering and Mulching to Ease Drought Stress
Most homeowners water their lawns and forget that trees need the same attention during a drought, even though trees have more at stake. Deep, infrequent watering at the drip line, the area beneath the outer branches where most active feeder roots sit, does more good than a quick daily sprinkle at the trunk. A layer of organic mulch two to three inches deep around the base, kept a few inches back from the trunk itself, helps the soil hold onto moisture longer between waterings. These adjustments will not undo a whole summer of drought, but they can meaningfully reduce the stress a tree carries into storm season.
Scheduling a Professional Tree Assessment
A short walk around the property with a trained eye catches problems easy to miss from a distance, especially on larger or older trees. This is also the point where storm clean up planning is worth thinking about before you actually need it. Knowing which trees on your property are already a concern means a faster, calmer response if a storm comes through, rather than deciding in the middle of an emergency. Fall is typically a good time for this kind of assessment, since it gives recommended pruning time to take effect before winter storms add another kind of stress entirely.
The Bottom Line for This Storm Season
This summer’s drought and an active stretch of hurricane season are overlapping in a way that makes late summer worth watching closely, even in a year forecast to be quieter than most. The trees most likely to come down in the next storm are usually the ones already showing signs of stress today, whether that is thinning leaves, cracked bark, or soil pulling away from the base. A little attention now, deep watering, a fresh layer of mulch, and a professional look at anything that seems off, can meaningfully change how a tree holds up when the wind finally arrives. If a tree on your property has not looked like itself this summer, do not wait for a storm to make the decision for you. Reach out to Hernandez Complete Tree Service for a free estimate and let an experienced eye tell you what your trees actually need.