When Hurricane Michael made landfall in October 2018, it was a Category 4 storm that damaged more than 6 million acres of forest and destroyed 10 billion cubic feet of timber across Alabama, Georgia and Florida. …After the hurricane, mills were flooded with salvaged timber — causing prices to fall. A year later, when trees were too rotten or damaged to be salvaged, lumber prices rose. With a scarcity of timber in the area, landowners who still had standing trees were able to sell them at higher prices, and the increased cost passed on to the mills that make wood products. …Understanding the effects of hurricanes on forests, forest products and markets is crucial to the forest sector and customers – with the potential of increased storm activities due to climate change. Forest Service Research Economist Jesse Henderson from the Southern Research Station explored the effects of hurricanes on forest products markets in a recent study.