How to Prep Your Building for Storm Season

In 2025 alone, the United States experienced 23 separate billion-dollar weather disasters, causing more than $145 billion in damage. Extreme weather is becoming both more frequent and less predictable, affecting regions that historically saw little storm activity.

That shift means many buildings were simply not designed with today’s storm intensity in mind. So, you could say that storms have gone past being a seasonal inconvenience and have become a serious operational risk for property owners in these areas. 

While both residential and commercial properties are at risk, the consequences for commercial property extend far beyond a damaged roof. Flooded storage, electrical failures, business interruptions, and tenant losses can quickly cascade into lost revenue, insurance complications, and long-term vacancies.

This is why property owners who want to keep their building’s value untouched must practice responsible management that treats weather changes as a serious issue. Storm preparedness and annual inspections must be part of the deal. 

In this guide, we’ll walk through the key steps commercial building owners can take to prepare their properties for storm season and reduce the risk of costly damage.

Assess Your Building’s Vulnerabilities

In many cases, storm damage doesn’t occur because the structure itself is weak, but because critical connection points fail under pressure. Every building has structural seams where different systems meet (roof edges, wall joints, window frames, drainage outlets, etc.). These areas are often the first to fail when exposed to strong winds or heavy rain.

To reduce storm-related risks, industry standards recommend biannual building inspections, usually in the spring and fall. These inspections help identify weaknesses that could lead to water intrusion or structural damage during severe weather.

Here are the main areas of interest inspectors pay attention to:

• Perimeter edge metal and flashing (the edge of the rooftop)
• Roof penetrations (HVAC curbs and/or pitch pockets)
• Rooftop equipment (loose panels, unanchored pipes)
• Parapet walls and coping caps
• Large-opening enclosures (loading docks, storage areas, etc.)

Most of these elements are part of a commercial building, but they usually don’t pose a threat to the building’s safety. The problems show up when you’re not up to date with the inspection and maintenance schedule.

Steps to take: Consider bringing in a local building inspection company that specializes in storm preparedness to evaluate your property. Once the assessment is complete, you’ll have a clearer picture of where the building may need repairs or reinforcements and can prioritize those improvements before the next major storm arrives.

Create a Storm Response Plan

Tornadoes and hurricanes are not the only crazy weather patterns to prep for. Severe thunderstorm winds are also a problem as they impact the lower 48 states and tend to cause more damage than tornadoes. 

So, even if your state is not under tornado or hurricane threats, it’s still good practice to have a well-designed storm response plan. It should include three stages:

1. The pre-impact stage, which activates as soon as a watch or warning is issued
2. Post-impact recovery (the first 4 hours after the storm has died down)
3. The 72-hour audit to assess any damage or areas to strengthen

During the first phase, the maintenance team needs to be all hands on deck and make sure everything is secured according to protocol. Make sure they do a final sweep of all primary and overflow scuppers. A 1-inch accumulation of water on a 10,000 sq. ft. roof adds 52,000 lbs of load, which could be the breaking point.

The second phase happens right after the storm has died down, and it’s safe to be out and about again. Your team should check for downed power lines, structural ponding (large pools of water), and gas line integrity.

Extra tip: It’s good practice to find a commercial roof leak repair service you can call when immediate action is needed. These professionals have years of experience in the roofing industry and will be on scene asap, with the necessary equipment to patch that leak. 

Finally, the third phase involves conducting a full damage assessment and organizing repairs or reinforcements. Acting quickly is essential to avoid missing the deadline for filing an insurance claim.

Proper Insurance and Documentation

Nowadays, standard property insurance with a basic level of protection won’t help you much. This is why many commercial property owners opt for the special tier, since it covers all risks (including most storm damage) unless they are explicitly excluded. 

Confirm that your policy also covers rising water, such as storm surge, overflowing rivers, or heavy rain accumulation on the ground. Often, you may need to purchase an additional commercial flood policy for this. Even if you aren’t in a high-risk zone, changing rainfall patterns can increase the likelihood of localized flooding.

Be aware that, if you share ownership of the building (co-owned real estate), the other co-owners must be listed on the policy. If a storm destroys the roof, the insurance check is usually made out to all named insureds jointly.

Documentation for Insurance Purposes

Insurance companies deny 12% of water damage claims, and for around 60% of of those denials, the reason is a lack of proper documentation. Considering that the average claim payment for repairs following a flood is $52,000, according to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), it’s best to make sure this doesn’t happen.

Train your team on how to properly document everything, following the phases of the storm response plan (discussed above). Before the storm, they should take high-res, timestamped photos of the roof, HVAC curbs, and interior ceilings as proof that they were undamaged.

After the storm, when assessing the building’s condition, your team needs to take high-resolution, timestamped photos of debris, hail impact marks, or displaced edge metal. This must be done before any cleanup starts.

Once all these steps are complete, compile all the photo evidence, the incident log, and the repair invoices into a digital folder for the insurance carrier and file your claim.

Storm Preparedness as a Competitive Advantage

With insurance premiums rising nearly 88% between 2020 and 2025, resilience has become a measurable factor in commercial property performance. Buildings that are properly maintained and prepared for severe weather are better positioned to protect asset value, retain tenants, and maintain access to favorable financing.

In that sense, storm preparedness becomes a strategic investment. A well-maintained building, supported by a clear storm response plan and consistent inspection schedule, can deliver long-term value through stronger tenant confidence, reduced operational risk, and improved market competitiveness.