LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Like Arkansas’s neighboring states, the Natural State is no stranger to stormy weather. In fact, the official start to spring is March 19 this year, which will bring warmer days, flower blooms, pollen, and of course— severe weather.
Staying weather aware is a necessity, especially as the months of March, April, and May are considered "severe weather season" in Arkansas.
Senior Meteorologist with the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) Sarah Dillingham said while storms are not exclusive to the spring, most of the more significant severe events tend to occur between March and June.
Strong weather events can leave damage and destruction in their path, directly impacting homes and businesses caught in the crosshairs.
According to Dillingham, in 2023 storm damages totaled around $60 billion.
However, there are ways to prep a house to protect it if a strong storm were to develop.
"Arkansas is no stranger to damaging winds, tornadoes, hail,” Dillingham said.
She explained that two areas of a person’s home are the most vulnerable when a strong storm passes through—the roof and garage door.
“A garage door is the largest opening to your home,” Dillingham explained. “When those garage doors fail, they lead to more cascading failures of damage down the road.
Dillingham painted the scenario like this: when a storm packs heavy winds, on the outside of a home those winds are trying to pull apart everything that it can, and the home is trying to hold itself together through the impact. However, in a "perfect storm," those winds can sneak through a vulnerable garage door.
“The wind is pulling out on the walls, it's pulling up on the roof a little bit, and the wind inside can push out on the walls and up on the roof and then potentially cause more structural damage to your home,” Dillingham described. “That wind can even knock out walls and remove a section of your roof.”
One way to prevent severe damage is with a wind-rated garage door, which is rated as high as 130 miles per hour.
“It might be something that you have to save up for, but in the long run it will save you time, money, and potential structural damage down the road,” she said.
According to Dillingham, the roof is another easy target on a home, with 80% of that $60 billion 2023 total coming from hail damages.
She said a great option for protection is using what IBHS developed more than a decade ago, a fortified roof.
“It can withstand the forces in a severe thunderstorm and those straight-line winds or even potentially a tornado,” Dillingham said.
In addition to a wind-rated garage door and fortified roof, Dillingham suggested an impact-rated shingle meant to withstand the forces of hail.
“You could see a 50% increase in performance with an impact-rated shingle,” Dillingham said.
A wind-rated garage door can run a price tag of a couple of thousand dollars, but Dillingham said a one-time cost for any of these recommendations can make all the difference during storm season, saving more in the long run.