Discharge
Downspouts that empty somewhere safe
Carrying roof water away from the foundation, on the surface or in buried pipe, keeps a storm’s worth of runoff off the slab.
Moving roof water away from the foundation
Storm guide · Updated Sept. 24, 2026
Hurricane Season Gutter Checklist For Coastal Georgia And The Lowcountry
Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30. Before it starts, clear every gutter and downspout, check hangers, pitch and fascia, and make sure each downspout empties well away from the house. After every named storm, walk the house and look again — from the ground.
- Pre-season cleaning & flushing
- Hangers, pitch and fascia checked
- Loose downspouts re-strapped
- Storm-damage repairs
June 1 – November 30Atlantic hurricane season, per NOAA
Fort Pulaski after Irma, 2017
- Before June 1Clear, flush and re-strap
- Storm on the wayGround-level jobs only
- After it passesLook, photograph, then call
- Before next seasonFix what the storm found
Before June 1
Your hurricane season gutter checklist
Six jobs, best finished in May while the weather is calm. Anything that means climbing is safer with a professional — a gutter cleaning and repair visit covers all of it except the tree work.
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01
Clear the troughs and outlets
Scoop out leaves, pine straw, oak tassels and shingle grit, paying most attention to corners and outlets where debris packs hardest. A clogged gutter in a tropical downpour spills over the back as well as the front.
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02
Flush every downspout
Run a hose into each outlet and watch the bottom. Slow flow, or water backing up at the top, means an elbow is packed — clear it now, not in the first rain band.
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03
Check the hangers and the pitch
Sight along each run for sags and look for spikes backing out of the fascia. Water left standing after the hose test shows where a run has lost its fall toward the outlet.
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04
Secure straps, elbows and extensions
Every downspout should be strapped tight to the wall, its elbows screwed together, and any extension fixed so it cannot blow loose or wash away.
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05
Clear the discharge paths
Splash blocks under their downspouts, pop-up emitters free to open, daylight outlets uncovered by mulch or sand. Water that cannot leave the pipe comes back up at the house.
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06
Check the fascia and the trees
Probe soft spots in the board behind the gutter and note limbs hanging over the roof. Tree trimming near a house is work for an arborist — the International Society of Arboriculture keeps a public directory of arborists.
Recent storms on this coast
What the storms measured
Figures from National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service and NOAA storm reports. Every one of these storms tested gutters, hangers and fascia on the houses it crossed.
- 17.5″Matthew · Oct. 2016Rain at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah
- 70 mphIrma · Sept. 2017Gust measured at Fort Pulaski
- 10.44″Debby · Aug. 2024Rain at the Savannah airport
- 78 mphHelene · Sept. 2024Gust recorded on Jekyll Island
No gutter keeps a hurricane out, and none is meant to. What gutters do in a tropical system is carry an enormous volume of roof water for hours on end — and a weak system fails in ways that cost far more than the gutter itself.
When is hurricane season in Georgia?
Short answer: the Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30. The National Hurricane Center puts its peak around September 10, with most activity between mid-August and mid-October — and coastal Georgia and the South Carolina Lowcountry sit in the season’s path every year.
That peak lands on the wettest stretch of the year here. At the Brunswick station, August is the rainiest month in NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals, and at Woodbine in Camden County, August averages 7.76 inches of rain on its own.
What a tropical storm does to gutters
- Weight. A trough full of water and wet debris is heavy, and hours of rain keep it full. Hangers in soft wood, or spikes that have worked loose, let go first — usually at corners.
- Overflow in the wrong place. When outlets clog, water spills over the back of the gutter as well as the front and runs into the fascia, the soffit and sometimes the wall.
- Wind and limbs. Gusts lift loose downspout sections and extensions, and falling limbs crush or kink runs. Oaks and pines on this coast drop limbs in storms that never make the news.
- Water at the foundation. Every downspout that empties beside the slab puts a roof’s worth of water there for the length of the storm.
The damage spreads wide. The National Hurricane Center’s report on Helene counts more than a thousand homes and other structures damaged across Georgia’s six coastal counties in September 2024.
Where to get official storm information
This checklist is for planning gutter work, not for storm decisions. For forecasts, watches and evacuation orders, go to the official sources:
- National Hurricane Center — advisories, forecast cones and storm tracks.
- National Weather Service — local forecasts and warnings by ZIP code.
- Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency — state preparedness and evacuation information.
- Ready.gov — federal hurricane preparation guidance.
- Your county emergency management agency — local evacuation zones and shelters.
Key points
- Season: June 1 to November 30, peaking around September 10.
- Before it: clean troughs, flush downspouts, re-strap loose parts and fix soft fascia by the end of May.
- During a storm: ground-level jobs only — no ladders in wind or rain.
- After it: look from the ground, photograph everything, then call — roof and tree problems first.
Storm in the forecast
When a storm is coming, stay on the ground
Once a watch is posted, the ladder work is over. These jobs can still be done safely from the ground.
- Bring in loose extensions and flexible downspout adapters the wind could pick up.
- Take down rain chains or tie them off — a swinging chain can strike siding and glass.
- Clear the discharge points of leaves, toys and yard gear so water can leave the pipes.
- Photograph every side of the house now, for comparison once the storm has passed.
- Note limbs over the roof for an arborist to look at when the weather clears.
- Follow official orders from the National Weather Service and your county.
Never climb to clear a gutter in wind or rain. An overflowing gutter during a storm is a problem for after the storm.
After the storm
Storm damage, in the order to deal with it
Walk all four sides once it is safe to go outside, keeping well clear of downed lines and hanging limbs. Take photos before anything is moved, then work down this list from the top.
| What you find | How soon | What to do | Who to call first |
|---|---|---|---|
| A power line down on the house or in the yard | Immediately | Keep everyone away from it and anything it touches. | The power company or 911 |
| A tree or large limb on the roof | Now | Stay out from under it; gutter work waits until it is off. | An arborist and your insurer |
| Shingles gone or the roof opened up | Now | Photograph it; the roof is fixed before the gutters. | A roofer |
| A run hanging off the eave | Within days | Keep people and cars clear; it can drop in the next gust. | A gutter contractor |
| Split, soft or shifted fascia | Before anything is re-hung | Photograph it; hangers need sound wood. | Gutter and fascia repair |
| A downspout torn off or crushed | Before the next rain | Set loose sections aside; that corner now drains at the slab. | A gutter contractor |
| A dented or kinked run | Before the next heavy rain | Note the wall; a kink dams water behind it. | A gutter contractor |
| Leaves and straw in the troughs, no damage | Before the next storm | Clear the outlets so the next rain can drain. | A cleaning visit |
| Water pooled against the house | Once the ground dries | Check each outlet; repeat pooling means the discharge needs fixing. | Drainage work |
A guide to the order of work, not an inspection. If anything overhead looks unstable, stay clear of it and let the professionals look first.
No roofingGutters, fascia and drainage only
Call a professional
Damage that needs a professional
Some storm damage is simple: a downspout section to refit, an elbow to re-screw. Anything that means working at the roof edge after a storm is different — the ladder has to lean on a damaged eave, the fascia may be split, and debris can be wedged where you cannot see it.
Tree and roof damage come first, as the table above sets out. Gutter Solutions LLC does not do roofing; once the roof edge is sound, we re-hang, repair or replace the gutters and the fascia behind them.
Photos speed everything up. Text them with your address and we can tell you what looks urgent and what can wait.
- Runs pulled off the fascia
- Split or soft fascia boards
- Crushed or kinked gutters
- Downspouts torn from the wall
Before next season
Upgrades that make the next storm easier
Every storm is a test. Whatever failed this time is the off-season to-do list.
Bigger gutters and downspouts
A clean run that still overflowed is too small for the roof above it.
When it’s time for new guttersRhino micro-mesh guards
Keep the leaves and straw a storm shakes loose out of the trough and outlets.
Rhino gutter guardsSound fascia, closer hangers
Hidden hangers spaced closer on exposed walls, screwed into repaired wood.
Replacing rotted fascia boardsThe off-season window
The calm months between seasons are the time to fix what the last storm found.
Coastal service areas
Storm-season work in Georgia’s six coastal counties
The checklist applies inland too, but these are the counties where salt air, surge and live-oak limbs test gutters hardest.
All 27 counties
Questions
Hurricane-season gutter questions
Still have a question? The quickest answer is a phone call, and we will talk it through with you.
(912) 202-0537No. Taking gutters down is a big job, and a properly hung system comes through most tropical storms. What helps is going into the season with gutters that are clean, fastened into sound wood and free of loose parts. Downspout extensions, flexible adapters and rain chains are the pieces worth bringing in when a storm is forecast.
They help with what the wind leaves behind: the leaves, twigs, moss and pine straw a storm strips from the trees. A guard keeps most of that out of the trough and the outlets, so the gutter keeps draining through a long, heavy rain. Guards do nothing to stop wind damage, and they still need a rinse once a storm has dropped debris on top of them.
Late winter through spring. On the coast, live oaks drop their old leaves in spring just before the new ones open, so a cleaning after that drop and before June 1 catches the heaviest debris of the year. It also leaves time for hanger, fascia or downspout repairs before the busiest stretch of the season, mid-August to mid-October.
Every side of the house from far enough back to show the whole gutter line, then close-ups of anything bent, sagging or detached, any stains or gaps on the fascia, and water pooled near the foundation. Photos taken before anything is moved help whoever repairs the damage — and anyone you need to report it to.
Yes. Gutter Solutions LLC serves the South Carolina Lowcountry as well as 27 Georgia counties. Call (912) 202-0537 with your address, and we will confirm your street is covered and talk through what the storm did to your gutters.
Free estimate
Get storm-season work booked before the peak
Tell us about the property and what you are seeing. We will arrange a visit, look at the gutters, hangers, fascia and discharge points, and put the work in writing — cleaning, repairs or upgrades.
- Cleaning and flushing
- Hanger and fascia repairs
- Guards and bigger downspouts
- A written scope
Storm-season estimate Free and in writing
Photo credits: Field Outdoor Spaces, CC BY 2.0.