Spring to Storm Ready — Florida Homeowner's Hurricane Season Preparedness Guide

Hurricane season opens June 1. The window between now and then is the best time to run through this list — calmly, without a storm watch running on your TV.

Central Florida's inland position offers some protection from direct storm surge, but heavy rain, tornadoes, power outages lasting 5–10 days, and wind damage are all real risks for Dr. Phillips, Windermere, Lake Nona, and every community between them. This checklist covers what to inspect, what to fix, what to stock, and who to call if something goes wrong.

---

1. Exterior Inspection

Your roof, gutters, trees, and openings are the four categories that account for the overwhelming majority of residential hurricane damage. Walk each one before June 1.

Roof

Florida roofs take a beating year-round — UV degradation, thermal cycling, and tropical downpours combine to age a roof faster here than almost anywhere in the country. Before storm season:

• Walk the perimeter and look up. Missing shingles, curling edges, granule loss (dark spots or streaks), and visible cracking are all red flags.
• Check the ridge line. A sagging or uneven ridge can indicate structural issues beneath the surface.
• Inspect flashing around chimneys, vents, skylights, and where the roof meets exterior walls. Failed flashing is one of the most common sources of water intrusion.
• Know your roof age. Florida lenders and insurers require most composition shingle roofs to be replaced by 20 years. A roof approaching or past 15 years old warrants a professional inspection before storm season — not after.
• Check your attic for daylight penetration, water stains on rafters/sheathing, or compressed insulation (a sign of prior leak).

If you find damage, address it now. Post-storm roofing contractors are booked 3–6 months out after a major event.

Gutters and Downspouts

• Clear all leaves, debris, and standing water from gutters. Clogged gutters during a heavy storm become water-delivery systems directly into your soffits and foundation.
• Check downspout extensions — water should discharge at least 4–6 feet from your foundation. If downspouts terminate against the house, extend them before season.
• Look for gutters pulling away from the fascia board — a common issue in older Florida homes where fascia has softened from moisture exposure.

Trees and Landscaping

This one matters more than most homeowners realize. In Central Florida, the primary cause of non-roof residential damage in a wind event is tree failure — not the storm itself.

• Identify any tree within fall distance of your home, fence, pool equipment, or parked vehicles. A 40-foot oak's drop radius is larger than it looks.
• Look for structural defects: co-dominant stems (V-shaped splits near the top), dead branches (especially large ones), mushrooms at the base or on bark (internal decay indicator), and hollow sounds when tapped.
• Schedule a certified arborist inspection for any large mature trees near structures. Trimming or cabling a questionable tree is significantly cheaper than a roof repair — and far cheaper than the insurance claim.
• Remove dead palms. A dead palm in a 90 mph wind is a 200-pound projectile.

Windows and Doors

• Test every window and door seal. Run your hand around the frame while a helper stands outside with a flashlight — visible light gaps mean air gaps, which become water entry points under wind pressure.
• Check sliding glass door tracks. Clean and lubricate; a door that sticks in the track can fail to seal under lateral wind pressure.
• Know what protection you have. Impact-resistant windows and doors provide continuous protection. Hurricane panels, accordion shutters, and plywood each have different deployment requirements and timelines. Know yours and make sure hardware/lumber is staged before the first watch — not during it.
• If you have traditional single-pane windows and no storm shutters, consider adding at minimum a roll of 6-mil polyethylene sheeting to your storm supply kit as a temporary measure.

---

2. Plumbing and Water Systems

Water damage is the second most common homeowner insurance claim in Florida, and it's not always storm-driven. A slow leak, a failed supply line, or a backed-up AC condensate drain can create significant damage whether it's hurricane season or not.

Slow Leaks

• Check under every sink — kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry. Look for mineral deposits (white rings), soft cabinet floors, warped panels, or musty smell.
• Inspect supply lines on toilets and washing machines. Braided stainless supply lines have a useful life of 5–10 years; rubber-braided lines fail faster in Florida's heat. Replace any line that shows stiffness, cracking, or corrosion at the fittings.
• Check around the base of toilets for soft flooring, discoloration, or movement when you sit down — classic signs of a failed wax ring or slow flange leak.
• Inspect your water heater. Corrosion at the base, mineral buildup at connections, or age over 10 years means it's a candidate for proactive replacement rather than an emergency one.

Main Water Shut-Off

Every adult in your household should know exactly where the main water shut-off is and how to operate it. For most Central Florida homes it's located:

• At the meter near the street (requires a meter key or channel-lock pliers)
• Inside the home near the water heater or in a utility closet
• In a designated panel box on an exterior wall

Locate it this weekend if you're not certain. A burst pipe during an extended power outage — when you can't reach a plumber — is containable in minutes if you know where the shut-off is. It's catastrophic if you don't.

AC Condensate Drain

This one gets skipped constantly. Florida air conditioners pull enormous amounts of humidity out of the air, and that water has to go somewhere. The condensate drain — a PVC line running from your air handler to an exterior drain point or floor drain — can clog with algae and sediment, particularly in the high-humidity months.

• Flush the drain line now and in October. Pour 1 cup of distilled white vinegar into the condensate drain pan access point (usually near your air handler), let it sit 30 minutes, then flush with clean water.
• Locate the secondary drain pan (the overflow pan beneath your air handler). If this pan has standing water, your primary drain is already clogged — address it immediately.
• A clogged condensate drain causes the air handler to flood. In homes with air handlers in the attic (common in Central Florida), that's a ceiling collapse. In homes with handlers in closets, it's floor and wall damage. This is preventable with a 15-minute biannual flush.

---

3. Emergency Preparedness

Central Florida is fortunate — a direct major hurricane landfall is relatively rare compared to the Gulf and Space coasts. But "relatively rare" is not the same as "won't happen to you," and extended power outages (5–10 days) after inland events are common even without a direct hit.

7-Day Supply Kit

The standard guidance used to be 72 hours. After major Florida hurricanes in recent years, FEMA, the Red Cross, and local emergency managers now recommend 7 days minimum for households in Central Florida. Your kit should include:

Water: 1 gallon per person per day, 7-day supply. For a family of four, that's 28 gallons stored in sealed, food-safe containers. Fill the bathtubs and any available clean containers immediately when a watch is issued — this extends your supply.

Food: Non-perishable, no-cook foods for 7 days. Canned goods (and a manual can opener), peanut butter, crackers, granola bars, dried fruit, trail mix, shelf-stable milk. Focus on items your household actually eats — a kit you won't use is useless.

Power and communication:

• Battery-operated or hand-crank NOAA weather radio
• Multiple flashlights with spare batteries (LED, not incandescent)
• Fully charged portable power banks for phones
• A list of important phone numbers printed on paper (your phone dies eventually)

Medical and documents:

• First aid kit with updated supplies
• 30-day supply of all prescription medications (request early fills before storm season; insurers typically allow this)
• Copies of insurance policies, prescriptions, mortgage documents, and photo IDs in a waterproof bag or sealed plastic container
• Cash in small bills — ATMs and card readers go offline

If you have pets: 7-day supply of food and water, their vaccination records, medications, a carrier or kennel, and a list of pet-friendly hotels on your evacuation route.

Generator Readiness

If you own a generator:

• Test it now — run it under load for 30 minutes. A generator that starts but trips under load has a problem that needs service before hurricane season, not during.
• Change the oil and check the fuel system. Gas stored from last season has degraded — drain it and refill with fresh fuel plus a fuel stabilizer if you're storing it.
• Know your safe operating distance. Generators must run at least 20 feet from any door, window, or vent. Carbon monoxide kills faster than any storm — this is not optional.
• Verify extension cord gauge. Undersized cords under generator load are a fire risk. 10-gauge cord for runs over 25 feet.

If you don't own a generator, decide now whether an extended 7–10 day outage is acceptable. If you have medical equipment, small children, or elderly household members, a portable generator or whole-home standby generator (powered by natural gas or propane) is worth pricing before demand spikes in June.

Evacuation Planning

Know your zone. Orange County evacuation zones are labeled A through E — Zone A is highest risk (coastal and flood-prone areas), Zone E is lowest. Most of Dr. Phillips, Windermere, and Lake Nona are Zone D or E, meaning mandatory evacuations are rare — but not impossible with a direct hit from a major storm.

• Look up your zone now: Orange County Emergency Management has an address-based lookup tool.
• Plan two routes — a primary and an alternate. I-4 west and I-75 north are the two main inland routes out of the Orlando metro. Both back up heavily during large evacuations.
• Identify a destination. A family member's address 150–200 miles inland, a pet-friendly hotel you've pre-researched, or a designated Red Cross shelter. Have the address and phone number printed.
• Plan for gas. Fill your tank when a watch is issued — stations run out. If you drive 50+ miles to work, keep your tank above half throughout hurricane season.

---

4. Insurance Review

This section is the one most homeowners skip. Don't.

Know Your Hurricane Deductible

Florida homeowners insurance policies contain a separate hurricane deductible — it's not the same as your standard deductible, and it's almost always much larger.

Standard deductibles are a flat dollar amount ($1,000–$2,500). Hurricane deductibles are typically 2–5% of your home's insured value. On a $700,000 home, a 2% hurricane deductible means the first $14,000 of a storm-related claim is entirely your responsibility before insurance pays a dollar.

Pull your policy (or log into your carrier's portal) and find this number. If you don't know what your hurricane deductible is, you'll find out at the worst possible time.

Flood Coverage Gap

Your standard homeowners policy does not cover flood. Full stop.

Flood insurance in Florida is issued either through the NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program, administered by FEMA) or private flood carriers. It's a separate policy with a separate premium and a separate claim process.

FEMA's Flood Map Service Center lets you search any address for its flood zone designation. Even if your home is in Zone X (minimal flood hazard), consider this: roughly 25–30% of all NFIP flood claims come from Zone X properties. A slow-moving hurricane dumping 15–20 inches of rain over 48 hours doesn't respect flood zone boundaries.

NFIP policies for Zone X properties are significantly cheaper than high-risk zone policies — typically $400–$700/year. Call your agent and get a quote before June 1.

Home Inventory

Take a video walkthrough of your entire home — every room, every closet, every appliance, every piece of furniture. Open kitchen and bathroom cabinets on camera. Include serial numbers on major appliances, electronics, and HVAC equipment.

Save this video to cloud storage outside your home (not just a local hard drive that could be destroyed in the same event). Your insurance adjuster will thank you, and so will you — post-storm, documenting lost or damaged contents from memory is exhausting and error-prone.

---

5. Mold Prevention

Florida humidity during summer months runs 70–90% outside. Central Florida's interior climate makes this somewhat more manageable than the coast, but it's still the single most persistent maintenance challenge for homeowners in this region.

Mold requires three things: a food source (drywall, wood framing, carpet, cardboard), oxygen, and moisture. You can't eliminate the food source. You can control the moisture.

Indoor Humidity Targets

Keep indoor relative humidity below 60% at all times — ideally 45–55%. Most modern smart thermostats (ecobee, Nest, Honeywell T9) display relative humidity. If yours doesn't, a $15 digital hygrometer from any hardware store will tell you what your AC is (or isn't) doing.

The most common mistake Central Florida homeowners make: raising the thermostat too high when leaving for work. Setting your home to 82° while you're gone all day saves energy but allows humidity to spike — and sustained high humidity is exactly the condition mold needs to establish. Keep vacant homes no higher than 78°. The energy savings aren't worth the mold remediation bill.

HVAC Filters

Change your HVAC filter every 30–60 days during the summer months. A clogged filter restricts airflow across the evaporator coil, reduces your system's dehumidification capacity, and — in extreme cases — causes the coil to freeze and then flood your air handler with water.

In a post-storm situation where power is intermittent, run your AC as soon as power is restored to begin pulling humidity back down. Every hour of elevated indoor humidity after a rain event or water intrusion is time the mold clock is running.

Bathroom Exhaust Fans

Run your bathroom exhaust fan for at least 20 minutes after every shower. A quick flip-and-go does almost nothing — the fan needs time to actually exchange the moisture-laden air in the room.

Check that your fans actually vent to outside air — not into the attic or wall cavity (a code violation but common in older homes). Shine a flashlight up into the vent grille; you should see a duct, not insulation. If your fan terminates in the attic, that's a mold-in-the-attic issue waiting to happen.

After Any Water Intrusion Event

If a storm brings water into your home — through a compromised roof, failed door seals, a broken window, or flooding — the clock is short:

• Dry affected materials within 24–48 hours. Mold can begin colonizing within 48–72 hours on damp drywall and carpet.
• Document everything before cleanup with photos and video.
• Remove wet materials (carpet, drywall, insulation) promptly — wet drywall that appears dry on the surface is often still wet behind the paint.
• For anything beyond surface moisture, call a licensed remediation contractor.

If you find mold or experience water damage from a storm, Central Florida Disaster Recovery handles emergency remediation, structural drying, and mold testing for Central Florida homeowners. Save the number before storm season — after a major weather event, professional mitigation companies are booked days or weeks out, and the homeowners who called early get priority scheduling.

---

Before June 1: Save This Number

The checklist above takes most homeowners 3–4 hours spread across a weekend. Roof inspection, tree assessment, supply kit assembly, insurance document review, humidity check — it's genuinely manageable before the season opens.

The one thing that takes less than 60 seconds: save a local disaster recovery contact in your phone before you need it.

After a hurricane or major storm event, the companies that do emergency water extraction, structural drying, mold testing, and storm damage remediation are overwhelmed. Homeowners who call within 24–48 hours of water entry have dramatically better outcomes — both in terms of structural recovery and insurance documentation — than those who wait.

Central Florida Disaster Recovery (cfldr.com) is a local, licensed mitigation company serving the greater Orlando area. They handle the full scope of post-storm work: emergency board-up, tarping, water extraction, dehumidification, mold testing, and remediation coordination.

Save the number. Ideally, you'll never use it. But if you need it at 11 PM the night after a storm, you'll be very glad it's already in your phone.

---

The Real Estate Angle

If you're buying or selling a home in Dr. Phillips, Windermere, or anywhere in Central Florida, hurricane readiness isn't just a safety issue — it's a financial one.

A well-maintained home that sailed through a major weather event with no claims, solid documentation, and a clean inspection history commands meaningfully more in resale than a comparable home with insurance claims, deferred maintenance, or undisclosed water damage. Buyers have become savvier about roofs, insurance histories (easily pulled via CLUE reports), and humidity-related issues — and their agents are checking.

If you have questions about how your home's condition, storm history, or insurance situation might affect a future sale — or if you're buying a home and want an honest read on what you're walking into — that's exactly the kind of conversation that belongs before the ink dries, not after.

---

Ryan Solberg is a Florida real estate broker and mortgage specialist serving Dr. Phillips, Windermere, Lake Nona, Winter Garden, and the greater Orlando metro. Questions about how storm history or deferred maintenance affects your home's value? Start a conversation — no pitch, no pressure.