Last reviewed October 31, 2026.
You notice it in August, dragging the hose around the side of the house. A strip of shingle along the rake edge has lifted. The gutter over the back steps is sprouting a maple seedling. Neither looks urgent on a still afternoon. Both matter when a tropical storm pushes up the coast with a day and a half of warning.
When the season runs and when it peaks
The National Hurricane Center puts the Atlantic hurricane season at June 1 to November 30. Its climatology page names September 10 as the peak, with most activity between mid-August and mid-October, and notes that storms sometimes form outside the official window. Suffolk County’s How To Prepare page gives the same June to November dates.
The National Weather Service says the best time to prepare is before the season begins on June 1. For roof repairs, that means spring, long before any storm shows up in the forecast.
The roof checklist from county emergency managers
Suffolk County’s Office of Emergency Management has the most specific roof advice of any official page we read. Its Before a Hurricane checklist says to install straps or additional clips that fasten the roof securely to the frame, which it says will reduce roof damage. That is carpentry. It usually happens from the attic or during a reroof, so it goes on the spring to-do list, not the day before landfall.
The same checklist says to reinforce garage doors. Wind that gets into a garage, it warns, can cause dangerous and expensive structural damage.
The county pages skip shingle repairs. Still, loose tabs, lifted flashing and a cracked boot around a vent pipe are worth fixing before a storm, not after. A roof inspection in spring catches them while there is time to book the repair. If you want the roof itself built to a wind standard at the next replacement, our FORTIFIED roof guide covers the IBHS program.
Gutters, downspouts and storm drains
Drainage shows up on both Suffolk pages and on Ready.gov. Suffolk’s checklist says to clear loose and clogged rain gutters and downspouts. Suffolk’s How To Prepare page and Ready.gov both say to declutter drains and gutters.
A gutter packed with leaves cannot move a downpour away from the house. If any hangers are loose, have them tightened during the same visit as the cleaning. Our gutter cleaning page has Long Island prices and what a proper cleaning includes.
Trees, loose yard items and windows
Suffolk’s How To Prepare page lists steps for when a hurricane is 18 to 36 hours away. One is to trim or remove trees close enough to fall on the building. The Before a Hurricane checklist asks for trees and shrubs to be well trimmed so they hold up better in wind. Big limbs hanging over the roof are a job for a tree company, so call one early in the season.
The checklist also says to plan on bringing in outdoor furniture, decorations, garbage cans and anything not tied down. Left out, any of them can end up hitting the siding or the roof.
For windows, Suffolk calls permanent storm shutters the best protection and says the second option is boarding up with 5/8 inch marine plywood, cut to fit and ready to install. It adds that tape does not prevent windows from breaking. Nassau County’s 2022 hurricane brochure gives the same plywood advice, allows exterior grade sheets, and says to buy supplies before the season instead of in the pre-storm rush.
Watches, warnings and your zone
Nassau’s brochure explains the two alerts. A hurricane watch means sustained winds of 74 mph or more are possible, and it goes out 48 hours before tropical-storm-force winds are expected. A warning means those conditions are expected somewhere in the area and goes out 36 hours before tropical-storm-force winds. By the warning, roof and gutter work should already be done.
The same brochure tells residents to find out whether they live in a hurricane evacuation zone and to sign up for county alerts.
Photos and papers to have before the wind
FEMA’s guide to documenting property, published as FEMA P-1097 in July 2018, says to keep a detailed inventory and to use photos or video along with written descriptions of make, model and year. Paper copies go in a waterproof, fireproof box and electronic copies protected by strong passwords. Ready.gov, updated October 2026, adds that insurance policies and personal documents should be current, with digital copies in a password-protected place.
For the roof, that means clear, dated pictures of every slope you can see from the ground, the gutters, the chimney and the attic ceiling. If a claim follows, those pictures show what the roof looked like before the storm. What happens after you file, including New York’s hurricane deductible rules, is covered in our roof insurance claims guide.
Nassau’s brochure and the National Weather Service both say to review your homeowners policy before the season. Check the flood side too. FEMA says most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage and that a new National Flood Insurance Program policy typically takes 30 days to go into effect.
If a storm does open the roof, our emergency roof repair page covers the first hour and tarp prices.
