TL;DR: The 72 hours before a Tallahassee hurricane is when most of the actual damage gets locked in or prevented. This guide is the homeowner timeline (not the contractor sales pitch) for the 7-day, 3-day, 24-hour, and during-storm windows. (850) 820-2166 for pre-storm assessment.

If you have a mature tree in your yard and a storm in the cone, you have a short window to do the homework that matters and a long window to do work that doesn’t. Most Tallahassee homeowners get this backwards — frantic last-minute pruning that creates more risk, while skipping the documentation work that determines insurance outcomes. This guide is the actual sequence.

7 Days Out: The High-Leverage Window

This is when you can still get an arborist out, still get a removal done, still get documentation in order. Things to do:

Walk the property looking for failure flags — dead branches, hangers, lean, root plate movement
Photograph every major tree from two angles in good light
Confirm your homeowner’s policy section on tree damage
Pull the contact card for your tree service into your phone
Identify any standing dead branches or hangers that should come down

3 Days Out: Stop Adding To The List

By the 3-day mark every crew in the area is fully booked. Switch from work-scheduling mode to preparation mode:

Park cars away from canopy reach
Move outdoor furniture inside
Stage tarps, flashlights, extra phone batteries
Photograph everything again — same angles as the earlier shots
If drought conditions, water the root zone (saturated soil holds the root plate better)

24 Hours Out: Final Photo Pass

No outdoor tree work
Final photo pass of every elevation
Charge devices, fill bathtubs
Check on neighbors with mature canopy trees

During The Storm

Stay inside, away from windows facing the largest trees
Do not go outside during the eye — the back wall hits with wind from the opposite direction
If a tree comes through the roof, move to an interior room and call 911 if injured
Do not touch a tree on a power line

Pre-Storm Assessment: (850) 820-2166

If you have a tree you’re worried about and the cone is still 5+ days out, an ISA-certified arborist consult is the highest-leverage spend of the year. Inspection $200–$400, takes 30–60 minutes.

Related TTS Resources

This page is part of the TTS hurricane-season playbook. For the full season hub (30/14/3/1-day countdown, post-storm triage, and insurance claim mechanics) see the Tallahassee Hurricane Tree Prep Hub. For pricing on every Tallahassee tree service (removal, trimming, stump, emergency, arborist, crane, cabling), see the Tallahassee Tree Service Cost Guide.