What do Carolina Pines and your cell service have in common?

Have you ever wondered why your cell phone fades out in some areas?  Not just when the road dips low, but just in a regular area.  My wireless engineer friend, Rhett Orr, enlightened me that the RF (radio frequency for you newbies) wave emitted from the cell tower is roughly the same “size” as the pine needles.  So the needles in essence, block the signal.  What’s the probability fo *that*?