The Storm Prep Checklist
Most Homeowners Skip

There are two kinds of storm prep. The kind that happens in the grocery store parking lot 12 hours before landfall, and the kind that determines whether your roof stays on. The second kind happens weeks earlier, costs less, and almost nobody does it.

Storm season runs June through November across most of the country, whether your threat is hurricanes, derechos, or severe thunderstorms. Here's the checklist in order of when it has to happen.

Fix the roof's weak points.Wind doesn't tear off good roofs; it finds the lifted shingle, the loose flashing, the unsealed edge, and peels from there. A $300 repair visit in June prevents the $20,000 claim in September. Roofers are booked solid after storms and wide open before them.

Clean gutters and check downspout discharge. A storm drops months of rain in hours. Gutters that overflow at the foundation turn a wind event into a water-in-the-basement event.

Trim the trees. Dead limbs and branches overhanging the roof are the most common source of storm damage, and tree work is another trade that doubles in price after the storm. Anything dead within falling distance of the house goes now.

Test the sump pump and add a battery backup. Storms that flood basements also knock out power, which is precisely when a plug-in sump pump becomes a paperweight. A battery backup runs $300-600 and works during the outage.

Check your insurance before you need it. Three questions: Is there a separate wind/hurricane deductible (often 1-5% of dwelling coverage, which can mean $10,000+ out of pocket)? Do you have sewer backup coverage? And do you have flood coverage, because standard policies exclude flood entirely and new flood policies carry a 30-day waiting period. That last fact alone is why storm prep starts weeks early.

What actually matters

New flood insurance policies carry a 30-day waiting period. By the time a storm has a name and a track, it's too late to buy coverage for it. This is the single best argument for doing storm prep before the forecast exists.

Document the house. Walk every room with your phone taking video, open closets, film the roof and exterior from all four sides. Five minutes of footage is the difference between a smooth claim and an argument about what condition things were in.

Clear the yard. Patio furniture, grills, umbrellas, trampolines, potted plants: anything wind can throw at your windows, bring in or strap down.

Protect openings if warranted. Fitted shutters or pre-cut plywood on windows facing the likely wind direction. Brace or reinforce garage doors; a failed garage door pressurizes the house and is a leading cause of roof loss in high wind.

Charge, fill, freeze. Charge everything, fill vehicles and any generator fuel cans, freeze water containers to keep the fridge cold longer, and know where your water shutoff and electrical panel are.

Photograph all damage before touching anything, make only the temporary repairs needed to prevent further damage (tarps, board-ups) and keep every receipt, then file promptly. Be wary of contractors who knock on the door offering to “handle the claim”; storm-chasing fraud follows every major event.

Almost everything on this list is ordinary maintenance wearing a storm costume. The homes that survive storms well are simply maintained homes: sound roof, clear gutters, healthy trees, working pump, current documentation. BTLR keeps that baseline for you year-round and keeps your documents and photos organized in one place, which means when a storm shows up on the forecast, you're already 80% ready.

What actually matters

You can't control the weather. The condition of the roof it lands on is another matter.

Know what your home needs, when it needs it.

Upload your inspection report, get your BTLR Score, and finally have a system that flags problems early, while they're still small, covered, and cheap to fix.

Free. No credit card required.