While hurricane season doesn’t officially start until June, the first storm of the season, Tropical Storm Arthur, has already been named. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects that there will be 13 to 19 storms named this season, and it expects that 6 to 10 will form into hurricanes.
One of the dangers of these storms, even those that are tropical storms, is the wind damage. A tropical storm has winds of at least 39 miles per hour, while a hurricane’s winds are at least 74 miles per hour. NOAA states that of the hurricanes that are predicted three to six could be major, which means they will have winds of at least 111 miles per hour.
Preparing your home for winds of those speeds isn’t always easy. Working on your plan now is beneficial since it gives you time to find materials and adjust things for maximum protection before the pressure of having to batten down the hatches for a hurricane or tropical storm is upon you.
The windows of your home are one area that might face damage. Unfortunately, a broken window could also lead to considerable damage to the contents of the home. Storm shutters, wooden coverings and similar methods may be beneficial to help you combat the chance of the windows being broken.
You can also keep the trees and hedges around your home trimmed. These can whip around in the high winds. They may break off and cause damage to the roof, windows and other external components of your home. Keeping them trimmed and doing away with any that are unhealthy can also improve the safety of your house in the storm.
Securing all outdoor furniture and other objects that might become projectiles is also important. Unfortunately, it’s still possible that your home will sustain some damage. Your insurance company might not want to cover everything, so having an attorney ready to fight for your interests is beneficial.