Hurricane Season Roof Prep: A Homeowner's Checklist for Tampa Bay Through the Treasure Coast

The Florida hurricane season opens on June 1. By the time the first cone is on the news, the time to do meaningful roof work has already passed. The checklist below is what we send our own maintenance clients each May.

Two weeks before the season

• Walk the perimeter. From the ground, look for displaced tiles, lifted shingles, exposed flashing edges, or sagging gutters. Photograph anything that looks off — angles matter; close and wide.
• Clear the valleys and gutters. Six months of pine straw and palm debris hold water against your flashings. Standing water finds every imperfect seam.
• Confirm your underlayment age. If the field material is more than fifteen years old and you have never re-underlaid, the underlayment is the weak link, not the visible roof.
• Check the soffit screens. Wind-driven rain enters at the eaves. A torn screen and a clogged vent are both common, and both bad.

One week before

• Trim back trees. Any branch within ten feet of the roof is a projectile. Coconut palms in particular shed in a pattern that hits ridge tiles.
• Verify your wind mitigation report. If yours is more than five years old, your insurer will discount it accordingly. A fresh report can move premium meaningfully — talk to your agent.
• Photograph the roof from the ground in daylight. Six angles is plenty. After a storm, these become the baseline against which damage is measured.

What we don't recommend

• DIY tile re-bedding. Mortar work in this climate fails quickly when set by an untrained hand. The original specification is engineered around specific attachment patterns; lifting one to "fix" another typically breaks the assembly.
• Hurricane sealant sprays. The marketing is generous; the data is not. A correctly installed roof does not need an aftermarket coating.
• Last-minute work in a watch or warning. If a named storm is forecast within a week, no reputable contractor will perform structural roofing. Plan in May.

After

Whatever happens, document. Photograph the roof from the same angles as before. If a tile lifts, if a flashing seam parts, if a piece of metal moves — that is your insurance claim documented. Call your carrier first; call your roofer second.

The Atlantic season runs through November 30. Florida's prevailing winds shift in October. We will publish a mid-season inspection note in August.