What to do before the wind arrives, what to keep in the house, and how to handle your roof safely once the storm has passed — from a licensed local roofing contractor.
Last checked by us on Thursday, October 8, 2026 at 10:00 AM CDT. Storm conditions change faster than this page can be updated, and the figures move with every advisory. For the current forecast, surge heights, rainfall and local warnings, go straight to the National Hurricane Center and NWS Mobile.
NWS Mobile asked that preparations be finished Thursday. If your county issues an evacuation order for your zone, follow it — nothing on your roof is worth staying for.
In that order, and none of it involves getting on your roof. A roof is the worst place to be with a storm inbound, and anything you would fix up there now will not cure, seal or hold in time.
Stand in the yard and shoot every side of the house, plus the roof from ground level, then walk every room on video. Date-stamped "before" images are the single most useful thing you can have if you end up filing a claim — they settle the question of what the storm did and what was already there.
Heavy rain through a clogged gutter backs water up under the shingle edge and into the fascia, so clearing them is worth an hour — but only from the ground or a stable ladder on firm footing, with someone else home, and only while the weather is still calm. If wind or rain has started, skip it. A fall the day before a hurricane is far worse than a full gutter.
Patio furniture, grills, trash cans, ladders, planters, yard decor, loose lumber. Most roof punctures we repair after a storm are not from wind alone — they are from something the wind picked up.
A garage door that fails lets wind pressurize the house from the inside, and that pressure pushes up on the roof deck. Brace it, close it, and get shutters or plywood on the windows while the weather is still calm.
Look your address up on Know Your Zone, then photograph your insurance declarations page. Florida hurricane deductibles are a percentage of your dwelling coverage, not a flat $500 — know that number before you need it.
Phones and power banks charged, vehicles fueled, prescriptions refilled, cash on hand, and the freezer turned down cold. Fill bathtubs for flushing water if you are on a well.
Plan to be on your own for several days. Power and water can be out well after the wind stops, and roads may be blocked by debris before crews reach your street.
Put as many walls between you and the outside as you can — an interior room, hallway or closet on the lowest floor that is not at flood risk. Keep shoes on in case of broken glass.
If the eye passes over, the wind stops for a few minutes and then returns from the opposite direction, often harder. Do not go outside to look around.
Never in a garage, porch or breezeway, even with the door open, and at least 20 feet from windows and doors. Carbon monoxide kills people after storms every single season.
Move what you can, put down buckets and towels, and photograph it as it happens. A ceiling that is bulging is holding water — stay out from under it and wait for help rather than poking at it in the dark.
Treat every downed line as live. Stay at least 35 feet back, keep away from anything touching one — fences, tree limbs, standing water — never drive over a line, and call 911 and your utility. Report outages and let crews work.
Photograph and video every room and all four sides of the house before you move or throw anything away. Keep damaged materials where they are if it is safe to do so — an adjuster can look at a wet piece of decking, not at a description of one.
Cover what you can reach safely and move belongings out from under active leaks. Your policy expects you to take reasonable steps to prevent more damage, so keep receipts for tarps and supplies. Leave the roof itself to a crew with harnesses; wet shingles and hidden rot are how people get hurt after a storm.
Report the loss to your carrier, then book a real inspection. In Florida you generally have one year from the date of loss to file a new claim (Florida Statutes § 627.70132), but the sooner damage is documented, the easier it is to show the storm caused it.
Out-of-town crews follow every storm. Before you sign anything, check the license at Florida DBPR, ask for a local address, never pay a large deposit up front, get the scope in writing, and do not sign a contract you have not read — including anything that signs your claim or your benefits over to a contractor.
We are based at 10 E Fairfield Dr in Pensacola, we are state-licensed (FL # CCC1333764) and insured, and we are still here in January. That matters more after a storm than it does any other time of year.
Once conditions are safe, we get a tarp over the opening properly — fastened so it holds through the next band of weather, without turning a small repair into a bigger one.
We get on the roof, photograph what we find, and show you the pictures. If the roof is fine, we tell you it is fine.
We document the roof damage, put our repair scope and estimate in writing, and can answer construction questions during the adjuster’s inspection. We are roofers, not public adjusters — your claim decisions stay between you and your carrier.
Already have damage? Read the warning signs of wind damage or our guide to storm and leak repairs, and call us at (888) 373-1474.
If there is time, yes. A loose ridge cap, a lifted shingle edge or a cracked pipe boot is a small repair on a calm Tuesday and an open hole in a hurricane. Once a storm is inside 24 hours, though, stop — there is not enough time for sealant to cure or for a crew to work safely.
Contain it and document it. Buckets, towels, move the furniture, photograph the water as it comes in. Nobody should be on a roof in hurricane winds, and no tarp will stay on in them.
As soon as it is safe to be outside. Tarping gets scheduled in the order calls come in, and the roofs with active water intrusion go first. Calling early does not mean work happens at 2 a.m.; it means you are in the queue.
Most Florida policies cover sudden wind and storm damage, though some exclude wind or carry it separately, and hurricane claims carry a percentage deductible rather than a flat one. Read your declarations page, and remember the one-year deadline for filing a new claim.
We would rather you did not. The fall risk is real, and a tarp nailed down in the wrong places puts dozens of new holes through good shingles, which turns a contained repair into a replacement. Cover what is reachable from inside and let a crew handle the roof.
Completely. Wind damage follows pressure, not property lines — corners, ridges and eaves take the worst of it, and one house can lose shingles while the one next door loses none.
We are roofers, not forecasters. For the storm itself, these are the people to listen to.
Tell us what you are seeing and we will get you on the schedule. If you have an active leak or an opening in the roof, call (888) 373-1474 instead of filling this out — the phone is faster.
