Hurricane season gutter prep for Charleston and the Lowcountry, before the tropics turn.

Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, according to NOAA’s National Hurricane Center. The peak of the season is around September 10, and most activity falls between mid-August and mid-October. For Charleston homeowners, that makes late spring and early summer the best time to get gutters cleaned and repaired.

A lot more than a normal summer storm. During Tropical Storm Debby, August 4 to 9, 2024, the National Weather Service in Charleston recorded 19.06 inches at a North Charleston station, 18.66 inches near Summerville and 18.47 inches northeast of Mount Pleasant. The highest total in its report was 22.02 inches near Moncks Corner.

Start with a full hand cleaning and a flush of every downspout, then fix what the storm will find: leaking seams and end caps, loose hangers, sagging runs with the wrong slope, and long roof sections draining to a single downspout. Carry the water away from the foundation, and past the edge of the house on a raised home. BroGuard fine metal mesh keeps pine straw and leaves from refilling the trough.

Book it in May, June or July, well before the September peak. A hurricane watch comes only about 48 hours before a storm’s expected onset, which is not enough time to get on a crew schedule. A Solutionist walks the roofline, the crew does the work the same day whenever possible, and you get a written report. Call (843) 867-2267.

Yes. On a home built up on piers or pilings, downspouts drop a full story or more, so the straps holding them to the structure take more wind and need to be checked. Every outlet should carry water past the edge of the house instead of emptying under it, where it washes out the ground and soaks stairs and storage. Buried drain lines near the coast can fill with sand and need flushing.

Yes, and fast. Storm winds strip pine straw, live oak leaves and small limbs out of the canopy and drop them straight into an open gutter, so a clean trough can be packed before the heaviest rain arrives. BroGuard fine metal mesh keeps that debris on top of the guard while the rain runs through.

No. Storm surge is ocean water pushed ashore by the storm, and no gutter or downspout can stop it. During Irma in September 2017, NWS Charleston measured a peak storm tide of 9.92 feet in Charleston Harbor, the third highest on record at the time. Gutters handle rain, so the surge plan is your evacuation zone, which you can look up at hurricane.sc.

About 52.5 inches a year at Charleston International Airport, based on NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals. Close to half of it falls from June through September, much of it in afternoon thunderstorms. A tropical system on top of that can bring more than a third of a normal year’s rain in less than a week, as Debby did in 2024.

Look from the ground first: sagging runs, gutters pulled away from the fascia, downspouts knocked loose or crushed, and fresh staining on the siding. Stay off the ladder in wind and stay clear of downed lines. Then have a crew clear the storm debris, flush every downspout and re-secure the hangers before the next system arrives.

Hugo made landfall at Sullivan’s Island around midnight on September 22, 1989 as a Category 4 hurricane. NWS Charleston lists a 108 mph gust in downtown Charleston, storm tides of 15.0 feet above mean sea level at Isle of Palms and 10.4 feet downtown, and 8.10 inches of rain in Mount Pleasant. Many old trees came down across the area, including at Drayton Hall in West Ashley.

Yes. The South Carolina Emergency Management Division’s 2026 Hurricane Guide tells homeowners to “Clean gutters and downspouts to prevent water buildup and reduce the risk of damage from heavy rain and debris.” The same guide lists damage to roofs, siding and gutters even for a Category 1 storm.

They can be. A standing seam metal roof sheds rain off the eave faster than shingles, so in a downpour water can shoot past a gutter that is too small or hung too low. The fix is a properly sized gutter, often 6 inch, set where the water actually lands, with enough downspouts to drain it.