Peak hurricane season starts now — the 20 minutes that matter
Hurricane season officially runs June through November, but in South Mississippi the back half is what gets our attention. August, September, and October are historically the busiest stretch, and they're also when our phones start ringing with things that could have been caught in July.
Almost nothing on the list below requires a ladder, and none of it requires us. It's simply the stuff we wish every homeowner did before a storm rather than after.
From the ground, right now
- Walk the perimeter and look up. Lifted or missing shingles, sagging gutter runs, exposed nail heads along the ridge. A phone camera zoom works fine.
- Check the gutters. Overflowing gutters push water under the roof edge exactly where wind wants to start peeling.
- Trim limbs over the roofline. In the Pine Belt, trees do as much roof damage as wind — and a limb you can reach in July is a claim you avoid in September.
- Take dated photos of your roof and each side of the house. This is the single highest-value five minutes on the list. Dated "before" photos make an after-storm claim dramatically cleaner.
In the attic, after the next hard rain
Take a flashlight up and look for daylight where there shouldn't be any, water stains along nail lines and around penetrations, and matted or damp insulation. A musty smell is a finding, not just an old-house quirk. Active leaks that seem minor in an August thunderstorm behave very differently under a hurricane's rain.
Know two things about your policy
Before a storm is named, find your deductible type and your coverage basis. Many Mississippi policies carry a separate wind/hail deductible calculated as a percentage of dwelling coverage rather than a flat dollar figure, and coastal policies often handle named-storm wind separately. Replacement-cost and actual-cash-value policies pay very differently. Ten minutes with your declarations page now beats finding out during a claim.
When a storm does get named
- Secure anything in the yard that can become a projectile. More shingle punctures come from flying debris than from raw wind speed.
- Do not put anyone on a roof for last-minute repairs in deteriorating weather. Nothing up there is worth it.
- Have your documents and photos somewhere you can reach them without power.
Not sure what you're looking at?
A documented inspection is free and no-obligation, and it date-stamps your roof's condition — which helps if a claim comes later. We'll tell you honestly when the answer is that your roof is fine.
Schedule a free inspectionAnd if a storm does hit: our emergency line is open around the clock for tarping and urgent response. We're local, so we're here before it, during it, and long after the out-of-town trucks have moved on.
Ready for a roof you don't have to think about?
Schedule a free inspection or get an instant estimate right now. $0 down financing available through GoodLeap.