A catastrophic windblow event is defined as when the volume of windblown timber is equal to 100% of the annual cut (in cubic metres) or more than 1 million cubic metres in any one of the production forecasting zones (north, north east, east, west, south ) or more than 1.5 million cubic metres across combined zones.

Scotland’s forestry industry will this winter be ready to initiate action to clear storm damage to forests and woodlands and help keep things running smoothly.

Forestry Commission Scotland has pulled together an interim contingency plan that will help co-ordinate forestry sector efforts to tackle the after effects of an extreme windblow event.

Windblow season runs from October to April and severe windstorms – where wind speed exceeds 90mph – can cause havoc when large numbers of trees are blown over.

Catherine MacCulloch, who has helped develop the plan, said:

“Windblown trees can disrupt utility services, block public transport routes and prevent the emergency services from getting to where they need to be so. The disruption also extends to timber supplies, which obviously has an economic impact on the timber industry.

“It’s therefore important that the forestry sector is prepared and ready to respond as quickly as possible to this sort of storm damage and that we keep everyone informed.”

As soon as predicted wind speeds start reaching 90 miles per hour the plan will be initiated. Should a catastrophic windblow event then happen, action will focus on co-ordinating efforts within the forest industry to develop a quick and efficient response and recovery strategy.

Simon Hodge, Head of Policy for the Commission, added:

“Severe storms may become more common with ongoing climate change, however the frequency, scale and location of these events is unpredictable.

“This contingency plan will mean that the forestry sector is in a permanent state of readiness  to deal with and recover from damaging storms.”

For more information visit www.forestry.gov.uk/windblowplan