Risks of Winter Storm Damage

1/10/2022 (Permalink)

Storms of any kind can cause all sorts of damage to our homes and businesses. Winter storms however can be some of the worst. These storms carry the same high wind and water damage risks as other storms, with the addition of heavy snow and ice that can cover trees, powerlines, and roads making things slippery and even more dangerous. We wanted to highlight a few potential storm damages that you should watch out for this winter.

Fallen Trees and Branches:

When the temperatures plummet below freezing, ice and snow can accumulate on tree branches. Water is very heavy, and this added weight can cause branches or even entire trees to fall over. Besides the obvious dangers of things falling from above, these branches and trees can take out power lines causing a loss of electricity during a time where heating your home is crucial, as well as falling on your home and damaging your roof and other parts of your house.

Frozen Pipes:

Colder temperatures outside mean that the places in your home that are not directly heated (the parts of your house that your pipes are in) can reach sub-freezing temperatures. During these periods it is especially important to take care of and inspect your water pipes as the potential for pipes to crack is much higher. When water freezes it expands as it turns into ice, if the water in your pipes does this it can cause them to crack under the added pressure of expansion and flood your home.

Roof collapse:

Roofs are meant to withstand a lot, after all they protect your home from the elements, but that doesn’t mean that they are impervious to damage. Like mentioned above, snow and ice are heavy and a large build up of either can put enough stress on your roof to cause it to collapse. This is why it’s important to make sure that your gutters are cleaned during the winter months, in order for snow and ice melt to drain off properly and not collect in ice dams.

You can never really be too prepared for emergency scenarios and disasters, but sometimes there’s nothing you can do to prevent storm damage from occurring to your home. Should you be on the receiving end of a winter storm this year and find that you need emergency cleanup and restoration services give your local SERVPRO of Chesapeake North a call, we’re here to help 24/7, 365 days a year.