Spotted on a walk along the Mighty Wappingers Creek after a storm with plenty of gusty winds:
The tangle of branches and logs came from a tree that fell across the road from the far right side and put that crease into the guide rail. The vertical stump seems unrelated to that incident.
A bit of rummaging at the base of one post produced a victim:
The impact produced enough force to turn the rail brackets into guillotine metal shears against the posts:
It’s not a clean shear cut, which isn’t surprising under the circumstances.
An ordinary ½-13 Grade 8 bolt has a 17 k pound proof load: popping that bolt required a mighty oomf.
Memo to Self: stay indoors during windy storms!
The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning 
AND… inspect all trees near to the house prior to the storm. Take action as necessary.
If only our neighbors would take down all those dead ash and maple trees. They’re more likely to smash their houses than ours, but one day we’ll hear a mighty crash and hilarity will not ensue.
Trees are freakin’ heavy!
And their weight falls from a great height, gaining momentum with every foot!
The road crew pretty much just cut the logs into manageable sections and heaved them off the road; Nature will eventually finish the job.
I’m not sure guard rails would be fastened with Grade 8 bolts, but even at Grade 2 (or 5) standards, that’s a mighty whack.