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CROTON- The Croton Arboretum took a serious hit during Julys microburst, the severe thunderstorm which was concentrated over Croton and Ossining. The arboretum suffered toppled trees, some knocked over at the roots, twisted branches and blocked trails.
"Our top priority is getting arborists to remove any dangerous hangers and to try to clean and correct damage to trunks near the trails, said arboretum president Karen Jescavage-Bernard. Our second priority is replacing lost trees particularly near Con Edisons right of waybefore invasive brush and vines move into the Arboretum," she added.
The July 29th microburst which struck Croton and Ossining delivered a mileau of hyper-localized damage. The National Weather Service determined after the storm, by way of an aerial survey, that a wet microburst had struck that area. Microbursts produce strong downward winds, which account for much of the damage.
The storm damage was terrible, said Jescavage-Bernard, In addition to heartbreaking damage to some of our most treasured trees, many of the large black birch trees that have been weakened by disease were broken off at their roots or pulled out of the ground. Three huge legacy trees near the entrance had limbs twisted off the trunks."
Volunteers will assist the Croton Arboretum, also known as the Jane E. Lytle Memorial Arboretum, in cutting up the huge volume of fallen branches and limbs in the ground. Visit the Croton Arboretum's website for more information.
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