Weekend windstorm damages 8,500 trees in TANAP

More than 8,500 trees were broken and felled by a windstorm in the Tatra National Park (TANAP) this past weekend, with the financial damage to the wood alone reaching around €5,800, according to the park's deputy director Pavol Fabian. Apart from that, the windstorm damaged some of TANAP's facilities, including fencing and tourist signs. Another windstorm also caused havoc in the TANAP and Pieniny national parks in the High Tatra mountains on February 24, ripping up almost 2,000 trees and causing other damage to buildings and facilities amounting to €3,000. That same day the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMU) at its station on Lomnický štít peak recorded the strongest gust of wind since the facility was set up 1951, reaching 222 kilometres per hour.