The weeping willow in question is in the far corner of my lot. It is not bothering the house with roots or overhanging limbs. I have had it pruned (topped?) a few times to keep it from becoming a monster. It is near some power lines but other than that it is not bothering anybody.
It is however 53 years old. It has a trunk circumference of 13 feet. Yes, I measured it with a tape. I am pretty sure its trunk is hollow. There are places where it meets the ground that you can slide your hand into. Also some really large mushrooms are growing out of the base of it.
My heart is telling me the tree is OK. After all the top is green and growing fine. My head is telling me the tree needs to be cut down before it falls down. Which is right?
power utilities do contract with tree services to take care of trees near power lines, limbing or removal. if their periodic inspections show it to be a hazard they will take care of it.
What’s the worst-case scenario if it does fall? Can it take out a nearby structure or fence? Hit the power lines? Is it leaning one way or the other, that would indicate the most likely direction it would fall?
There’s a big difference between “topping” and pruning.
I’m looking at it the same way as Purplehorseshoe. If it isn’t going to do any harm by falling, leave it alone. Let nature take care of itself.
They are subject to uprooting from updrafts during a storm, like an open umbrella. This happened to an old one across the street, it came straight out of the ground, roots and all, leaving a deep crater.
One near me uprooted like that several years ago. It was not all that big yet, maybe 18" circ. It stayed leaning over in the field for about a year and was still alive! Eventually they somehow pulled it back into position and it is doing fine now.