Hurricane Home Preparation: A Homeowner's Checklist
Before, during, and after a hurricane — the home prep that protects your house and family, from shutters and shutoffs to generator safety, documentation, and recovery.
A hurricane is the rare home emergency you can see coming days in advance — which means the homeowners who fare best aren't the lucky ones, they're the prepared ones. The work splits cleanly into two jobs: slow, off-season hardening that you do once a year when no storm is in sight, and fast, final-72-hours readiness that you run the moment a storm enters the forecast cone. This checklist covers both, plus what to do during and the often-overlooked after.
One number frames everything below. According to the National Hurricane Center and Ready.gov, storm surge — not wind — has historically been the leading cause of hurricane-related deaths in the United States. Your house can be repaired. So the first rule of hurricane prep is the one no checklist can do for you: if you live in an evacuation zone and officials tell you to go, go.
Know what you're preparing for
The Saffir-Simpson scale rates a hurricane 1–5 on sustained wind speed alone. It says nothing about surge or rainfall flooding — which is exactly why a "weak" storm can still be deadly. Use it to calibrate how hard you harden the house, not whether you take it seriously.
| Category | Sustained wind | What it does to a typical home |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 74–95 mph | Damage to roof, shingles, siding, gutters; branches snap; power out a few days |
| 2 | 96–110 mph | Major roof and siding damage; many trees down; near-total power loss for days to weeks |
| 3 (major) | 111–129 mph | Roof decking and gable ends can fail; power and water out days to weeks |
| 4 (major) | 130–156 mph | Loss of most of the roof and some walls; area uninhabitable for weeks to months |
| 5 (major) | 157 mph+ | A high percentage of homes destroyed; total roof failure and wall collapse |
Source: NOAA National Hurricane Center, Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30 (the Eastern Pacific season starts May 15), and activity peaks from mid-August through October. The takeaway: the hardening work below belongs on your calendar in late spring, before the season opens — not the week a storm is named, when plywood and generators vanish from every store.
Watch vs. warning — know the difference
The two words the National Weather Service uses are not interchangeable, and confusing them costs precious hours. A watch means dangerous conditions are possible; a warning means they are expected. The watch is when you act — by the time a warning lands, your prep should be finished.
| Alert | What it means | Typical lead time | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Watch | TS-force winds (39–73 mph) possible | ~48 hrs | Review your plan, gather supplies |
| Hurricane Watch | Hurricane conditions possible | ~48 hrs | Start the 72-hour checklist; protect openings |
| Tropical Storm Warning | TS-force winds expected | ~36 hrs | Secure the yard; finish prep |
| Hurricane Warning | Hurricane conditions expected | ~36 hrs | Finish prep now; evacuate if told |
Source: NOAA National Hurricane Center / National Weather Service. A warning can stay in effect after winds ease if surge or flooding remains dangerous.
Your hurricane prep countdown at a glance
If you read nothing else, read this. The whole guide collapses into a single timeline — slow work first, fast work last.
| When | Priority actions |
|---|---|
| Late spring (season opens June 1) | Clear gutters, inspect roof & flashing, trim trees, test the sump pump + backup, buy and pre-cut shutters or plywood, brace the garage door, review your insurance and flood policy |
| Storm in the cone (~72 hrs) | Install shutters or plywood, secure the yard, fill tubs and containers, charge power stations, set the fridge to coldest, fill the gas tank |
| Hurricane Watch (~48 hrs) | Finalize supplies, photograph every room, move valuables up off the floor, confirm your evacuation zone and route |
| Hurricane Warning (~36 hrs) | Finish all prep, locate every shutoff, and evacuate immediately if ordered |
| During the storm | Stay inside away from windows, never enter flood water, beware the calm eye |
| After it passes | Stay safe, document damage before cleanup, call your insurer, tarp and board, dry out within 24–48 hrs |
Phase 1 — Off-season hardening (do this once a year)
This is the maintenance that decides how your house performs before a storm is ever on the map. None of it can be done well in a panic.
The building envelope
- Clear gutters and downspouts and confirm they drain well away from the foundation. Clogged gutters overflow under wind-driven rain and push water into the house. See how to clean gutters safely (or without a ladder) and put clean gutters & downspouts on your schedule.
- Inspect the roof and flashing. Loose or lifted shingles and tired flashing are where wind starts peeling a roof apart. Schedule a visual roof inspection and inspect roof flashing and seals before the season. For ongoing detail, see gutters overflowing.
- Check the grading around the house. Soil should slope away from the foundation so surge and rain drain off, not toward, your walls — see check soil grading.
- Test the sump pump — and its backup. A pump that fails during a multi-day outage is no pump at all. Verify the float switch and check valve work, then test the sump pump and test its backup battery. If yours struggles, read sump pump not working.
The yard and openings
- Trim trees and remove weak limbs near the house and power lines. In a hurricane, every branch is a potential projectile and every overhanging limb a potential hole in your roof.
- Decide your window protection now. Code-rated accordion, roll-down, Bahama, or impact-rated panel shutters are best; if you'll use plywood, buy 5/8-inch exterior-grade sheets, cut and label them per opening, and pre-drill the anchors off-season. Scrambling for plywood the day before a storm is how people end up with nothing.
- Reinforce the garage door. A non-wind-rated garage door is one of the most common failure points — when it caves, wind floods the house and pushes up on the roof from inside. A bracing kit or a wind-rated door dramatically lowers that risk.
- Install whole-home surge protection. Lightning and grid swings during storms fry electronics; a surge protector at the panel is cheap insurance.
Why "protect the openings" is the whole game: A house is an aerodynamic system. As long as it stays sealed, wind flows around it. The instant wind breaches a window, door, or garage door, the house pressurizes from the inside — and that internal pressure, pushing up under the roof at the same time wind lifts from above, is what tears roofs off. Keeping every opening intact is the single highest-leverage thing you can do.
Phase 2 — The final 72 hours (storm in the forecast)
Once a storm is in the cone, switch from hardening to readiness. Work top to bottom: protect, secure, stock, document.
Protect & secure the structure
The house itself
- Install shutters or screw on pre-cut 5/8" plywood
- Brace the garage door if it isn't wind-rated
- Bring in or tie down everything loose outside — furniture, grills, trash cans, plants, toys, anything that can fly
- Confirm the gutter path is clear for heavy rain
- Park vehicles away from trees; fill the gas tank
Stock power, water & supplies
For days, not hours
- 1 gallon of water per person per day, 3 days minimum (two weeks is better)
- Fill the bathtub and buckets for flushing and washing
- Set fridge/freezer to coldest; freeze water jugs
- Charge phones, battery power stations, and backup batteries
- Non-perishable food, meds, first-aid kit, flashlights, battery/hand-crank radio, cash, and pet supplies
Document & plan
Future-you will be grateful
- Photograph or video every room and the exterior, date-stamped
- Move documents, electronics, and valuables up off the floor
- Put insurance papers, IDs, and your home inventory in a waterproof bag or the cloud
- Know your evacuation zone and route; download the FEMA app for alerts
- Locate all three shutoffs — water, gas, electrical — while it's still light
Don't bother / don't do
Myths and mistakes
- Don't tape windows — it does nothing and creates larger, more dangerous shards
- Don't crack windows "to equalize pressure" — that's a myth that lets wind and rain in
- Don't wait for the mandatory-evacuation order to think about leaving
- Don't run a generator anywhere enclosed (see below)
- Don't assume wind insurance covers flood — it usually doesn't
Know your shutoffs cold
When the lights go out and water is rising, you won't have time to look anything up. Walk the house now and find each one:
- Water — your main water shutoff. If you'll be away for a while, shut it. Full walkthrough: how to shut off water to your house.
- Electricity — the main breaker. Kill it if flooding is imminent or you're evacuating, but never touch the panel while standing in water.
- Gas — leave it on unless you smell gas or are told to shut it; a pro must restore it.
Generator safety — read this before you start it
Portable generators save your food and your sanity during a multi-day outage — and they kill people every single hurricane season. The cause is almost always the same: carbon monoxide, an invisible, odorless gas in the exhaust.
Generator do's
Power without poisoning anyone
- Run it outdoors only, 20+ feet from the house
- Point the exhaust away from doors, windows, and vents
- Put battery CO alarms on every level inside
- Let it cool before refueling; store fuel safely
- Use a transfer switch or plug appliances directly into the unit
Generator never-do's
Each one has killed someone
- Never run it in a garage, carport, basement, crawl space, or shed — even with the door open
- Never place it near an open window or AC intake
- Never "backfeed" by plugging it into a wall outlet — it can electrocute utility crews
- Never refuel a hot or running generator
- Never ignore a CO alarm — get to fresh air immediately
During the storm
- Stay inside, away from windows, in an interior room on the lowest safe floor — but go up, never into a sealed attic, if water is rising. You can be trapped by flood water in an attic with no exit.
- Never drive or walk through flood water. Turn Around, Don't Drown: just six inches of moving water can knock you off your feet, and one foot can sweep away a car.
- Beware the eye. The sudden calm in the middle of a hurricane is not the end — the back wall of the storm brings winds from the opposite direction, often just as violent. Stay put until officials say it's over.
- Keep getting alerts via the FEMA app, a battery radio, and Wireless Emergency Alerts.
After the storm — the part people forget
The hours after a hurricane cause a surprising share of injuries and the slowest insurance claims. Slow down and work in order.
| Step | Do | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stay safe | Don't touch wet electrical equipment; avoid flood water | Water can be electrically charged and full of contaminants |
| 2. Kill power if needed | If safe, shut the main breaker before entering a wet area | Prevents shock; lets you assess safely |
| 3. Document first | Photograph all damage before moving or cleaning anything | Insurers want "before-cleanup" proof |
| 4. Call your insurer | Report promptly; keep a claim log | Early claims get adjusters sooner |
| 5. Make temporary repairs | Tarp the roof, board broken windows | Stops further damage (and is usually required by your policy) |
| 6. Dry out fast | Remove wet materials within 24–48 hours | Beats mold before it starts |
That last step is the one that quietly costs people the most. Standing water and saturated drywall grow mold within a day or two — so getting wet materials out and air moving is urgent. See how to prevent mold and, if pipes were affected, what to do about a burst pipe. For the broader emergency playbook, keep home emergency: what to do bookmarked.
What it costs to be ready
Hurricane hardening is some of the highest-return spending a coastal homeowner can do — almost all of it is preventing a five- or six-figure loss for a few hundred dollars.
| Task | How often | DIY cost | Pro cost | Prevents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5/8-inch plywood window protection (DIY, pre-cut) | One-time + reuse | $200–600 | — | Broken windows, wind breaching the house |
| Code-rated hurricane shutters | One-time | — | $2,000–12,000+ | Opening breaches; may cut premiums |
| Garage-door bracing kit | One-time | $150–400 | $300–700 | The #1 wind-entry failure point |
| Portable generator + transfer switch | One-time | $500–1,500 | +$500–900 install | Spoiled food, no power for days/weeks |
| Sump pump battery backup | Every 3–5 yrs (battery) | $150–400 | $400–800 | Basement flooding during outages |
| Whole-home surge protector | Every ~10 yrs | — | $200–500 | Fried electronics from storm surges |
| Flood insurance (NFIP/private) | Annual | varies | — | The peril homeowners insurance excludes |
The insurance reality (don't skip this)
The most expensive hurricane mistake is an insurance one. Three things to verify before each season — not when a storm is named:
- Flood is separate. Standard homeowners policies cover wind but typically exclude flood and storm surge. You need a National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or private flood policy — and it usually has a 30-day waiting period, so it must already be in force.
- You may have a hurricane deductible. Many coastal policies carry a separate, percentage-of-value wind/hurricane deductible that's much higher than your standard one. Know the number.
- Documentation wins claims. A date-stamped photo or video walkthrough of every room and your belongings, stored in the cloud, is the difference between a fast payout and a fight. Build it into your home maintenance binder and keep your home inventory current.
Make hurricane prep a calendar, not a scramble
Almost everything that protects a house in a hurricane is maintenance done in advance — clear gutters, a sound roof, a tested sump pump, shutters ready to go, documents in the cloud. The homeowners who get caught out aren't careless; they just never had the seasonal tasks in front of them at the right time. That's exactly what a plan fixes.
Build your free Owner Tools manual and select a coastal or hurricane-prone climate — no login or address required — and we'll weight your schedule toward the roof, gutter, drainage, and storm-prep tasks that matter most, timed for before the season opens. Pair it with the coastal home maintenance and fall maintenance guides for the full picture.
Sources and further reading
- Ready.gov — Hurricanes (U.S. Department of Homeland Security / FEMA): before/during/after guidance, evacuation, and supplies.
- NOAA National Hurricane Center — Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale and storm surge hazard information.
- National Weather Service — Hurricane Preparedness and Turn Around, Don't Drown.
- CDC — Carbon Monoxide & Generator Safety and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission — Portable Generators.
- National Flood Insurance Program — FloodSmart.gov — flood coverage and the 30-day waiting period.