Howell Storm Tree Prep: Six Myths That Cost Homeowners (2026)

Every July we hear the same confident statements from Howell homeowners, and every storm season a few of them get expensive. Hurricane season technically runs June 1 through November 30, but the Atlantic does most of its damage between mid-August and mid-October — which makes right now the cheap time to get your trees ready. Here are the six myths we run into most, and what’s actually true.

Myth 1: “Tornadoes don’t happen here.”

Fact: an EF-2 tornado crossed from Jackson into Howell on April 1, 2023, with winds the National Weather Service surveyed at 120 mph. It snapped and uprooted dozens of large trees along its track. And it wasn’t alone — Monmouth County recorded four tornadoes that single day: two EF-1s near Allentown, the Jackson-to-Howell EF-2, and another EF-2 in Manasquan. Tropical remnants spin up tornadoes too; Isaias dropped them along its path through New Jersey in August 2020.

The point isn’t fear. It’s that “we’re an inland town, we’re fine” is not a tree-management plan. Straight-line thunderstorm wind, tropical remnants, and the occasional tornado all find the same weak trees.

Myth 2: “If a storm wrecks my trees, the township hauls away the mess.”

Fact: Howell’s brush program is spring-only, and it’s already over for 2026. Collection began March 30, everything had to be curbside by April 27, and each zone got one final pass. The program takes no stumps and caps you at roughly one pickup-truck load. Anything beyond that goes to the Howell Recycling Center at 278 Old Tavern Road — in your own vehicle. The full rules are on the township’s brush pickup page, and the DPW answers questions at (732) 938-4500 x2450.

There is no standing storm-debris pickup. A tree that comes down in September is entirely your project until spring — and even then, only the small stuff qualifies. This is why storm cleanup is a core part of what we do: one crew, one visit, wood and stump gone. Request your free estimate and flag it as storm damage.

Myth 3: “I can’t touch a storm-damaged tree without a permit.”

Fact: it’s the opposite. Howell’s ordinance exempts dead, dying, diseased, storm-damaged, and dangerously leaning trees from the permit requirement — on any size lot. Take photos before removal; that’s your proof the tree qualified. (Most Howell homeowners on lots of an acre or less don’t need a permit for any tree anyway.) Our Howell tree removal permit guide lays out the whole ordinance, including the 1-acre rule.

So when a storm leaves an oak resting on your garage, paperwork is not the holdup. Photograph it, then get a crew moving.

Myth 4: “If my tree falls on my neighbor’s house, my insurance pays for their roof.”

Fact: usually not. Under New Jersey’s approach to storm-felled trees, a healthy tree that wind brings down is treated as nobody’s fault — an act of God — and your neighbor files with their own homeowners carrier. The same rule protects you in reverse: their healthy pine on your roof is generally your policy’s claim.

The exposure runs the other way. If your tree was visibly dead or failing and you left it standing, you can be liable — the standard is whether you knew or reasonably should have known it was hazardous. Every season you ignore a dead tree near the property line, you’re building your neighbor’s case. Removing it now is dramatically cheaper than litigating it later. One coverage note while we’re here: homeowners policies generally pay for tree removal only when the tree hit an insured structure, and the removal portion is often limited to roughly $500–$1,000. (We’re a tree company, not lawyers or insurance agents — confirm your situation with the professionals who are.)

Myth 5: “If the power goes out, JCP&L already knows.”

Fact: report it yourself. Call 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877), text OUT to 544487, or use the JCP&L outage reporting page. If a wire is down, that’s a 911 call — stay at least 30 feet back and assume it’s live, even if it looks dead.

While you’re saving numbers, sign up for Monmouth County’s emergency alerts. The county now uses the SiRcom SMART Alert system; registration takes two minutes at monmouth.sircom.org/public. During Sandy, when about 92% of the county lost power, official alerts were how residents learned about road closures, shelters, and restoration timelines.

Myth 6: “Anybody with a chainsaw and a trailer can handle storm work.”

Fact: New Jersey law requires any business doing tree care for hire to be registered with the NJ Board of Tree Experts and to employ state-licensed expertise. Storm work is the most dangerous work in the trade — trunks under load, limbs under tension, root plates that can stand back up when the weight comes off. Before you hire anyone (us included), look them up in the state’s tree expert business directory. An unregistered crew with a lowball price is how a damaged garage becomes a damaged garage plus a lawsuit.

What to actually do this month

Walk the yard. Flag dead limbs, hung-up branches, mushrooms at the base of a trunk, and any new lean — especially on trees within falling distance of the house, the driveway, or a neighbor’s property. Then have the flagged trees assessed while schedules are still open. The morning after a named storm, every tree service in Monmouth County is triaging emergencies; the pruning and hazard removals that would have prevented half those emergencies had to happen in July.

This guide summarizes township, utility, state, and insurance-industry guidance as of July 2026. It is not legal or insurance advice. Confirm current brush and permit rules with Howell Township at (732) 938-4500.