MEMPHIS, Tenn. — As the ice continues to fall, we’re talking to experts who say the Memphis area is still at risk from storm damage.

Memories of the ice storm of February 2022 are still fresh in the minds of those in the Mid-South. Woodland Tree Service President Terran Arwood said it took six weeks for them to get caught up last year.

“There’s still some fractured branches around the city from last year,” Arwood said.

As of about noon Tuesday, Arwood said they had taken calls for minor issues. MLGW reported about 5,000 weather-related outages.

Arwood expected the severe weather impacts to increase by Tuesday night.

“I think there’s going to be a little more wind this evening so that static load combined with dynamic forces, a lot of these trees that are stressed will see more limb breakage,” he said.

Experts say trees like this are the kind you need to keep the closest eye on because they get the heaviest in this type of weather.

“Each needle has so much surface area. All that ice accumulates on there. Just so much additional weight on that. That’s why pine trees specifically, along with magnolias and other evergreens that have a large surface area,” Arwood said.

The best way to protect yourself is to be mindful of drop zones and keep vehicles and other objects away from areas where trees could fall.

Arwood said they respond to tree needs as the calls come in on a first come first served basis.

MLGW officials say they’ve replaced nearly 700 poles since last year’s ice storm. If you experience an outage, they ask you to call 901-544-6500 or by using your online account.