Summer Storm

What to Do After a Summer Storm in New Hampshire

A clear, safety-first guide to what to do after a New Hampshire summer storm: inspect damage, document for insurance, and call the right local pros.

What to Do After a Summer Storm in New Hampshire

Summer storms in New Hampshire can turn a calm afternoon into a mess in minutes. One hour you have blue sky over the lakes, the next you have a severe thunderstorm rolling through with high wind, hail, and lightning. If you have lived here through a few summers, you know how fast it happens. Knowing what to do after a storm protects your family, your home, and your wallet.

Here is a clear plan for the hours and days that follow.

Stay Safe Before You Inspect Anything

Your first job is simple. Make sure nobody gets hurt.

Stay inside until the storm has fully passed. Microbursts in New Hampshire can produce straight-line winds strong enough to snap mature pines and oaks, and trees keep falling even after the rain stops. Wet, weakened limbs come down with no warning.

Watch for downed power lines. Treat every line on the ground or hanging low as live and dangerous. Keep kids and pets far back, and call your utility to report it. In a widespread outage, crews prioritize lines that are down, so report early.

If you smell gas or hear hissing, leave the house and call it in from outside. Do not flip switches or light anything.

Check for the Common Storm Damage

Once it is safe to walk your property in daylight, do a slow, careful walk-around. New Hampshire summer storms tend to leave the same kinds of damage, so you know what to look for.

Start with the roof, viewed from the ground. Look for missing or lifted shingles, dented metal, and debris piles. High wind and hail are hard on asphalt shingles, and even a few missing tabs can let water in during the next downpour. If you see daylight in the attic or water stains on a ceiling, you have an active leak.

Check the siding and gutters next. Wind-driven branches crack vinyl and dent aluminum. Gutters pull loose or fill with leaves and limbs, which sends water where you do not want it.

Walk the yard and the tree line. Look for split trunks, hanging limbs caught in the canopy, and trees leaning more than they did yesterday. A leaning tree with lifted soil at the base is a serious hazard and should be handled by a pro.

Deal With Downed Trees and Limbs Carefully

Trees and limbs cause the most expensive damage in a New Hampshire summer storm, and they cause the most injuries during cleanup.

Small branches on the ground you can clear yourself. Leave the big stuff alone. Do not climb a ladder with a chainsaw to cut a limb over your head, and never touch a tree or limb that is tangled in a power line. Call the utility for that, then call a pro.

For anything large, leaning, or near the house, bring in a tree service. They have the gear to drop and remove heavy wood safely, and they can spot a hazard tree that looks fine but is ready to fall.

Handle Water in the Basement

Heavy summer downpours overwhelm drainage fast, especially in older Granite State homes with stone foundations. If you find water in the basement, kill the power to that area at the breaker before you wade in, since outlets and submerged cords are a real shock risk.

Get the water out with a pump or wet vac, then run fans and a dehumidifier. Mold can start within a couple of days in warm, damp conditions, so move quickly on anything wet. Pull soaked boxes, rugs, and furniture off the floor.

If your sump pump failed during the outage, that is worth fixing before the next storm. A battery backup pays for itself the first time the power goes out mid-storm.

Document Everything for Insurance

Before you clean up or repair anything, document the damage. This step decides how smoothly your claim goes.

Take clear photos and video of everything. Get wide shots that show the whole area and close-ups of specific damage. Capture the roof, siding, windows, fallen trees, interior leaks, and any soaked belongings.

Write down the date and time of the storm. Note what kind of weather hit, such as hail, high wind, or a downburst. Keep a running list of damaged items with rough values.

Save receipts for anything you spend on emergency repairs, like a tarp on the roof or a few hours of tree removal to make the property safe. Most policies cover reasonable steps to prevent further damage, so keep proof.

Make temporary repairs to stop the bleeding, but do not do permanent work until your adjuster has seen the damage or signed off. A tarp and some boards are fine. A brand new roof before the claim is approved is a problem.

Then call your insurance company and start the claim while the details are fresh.

Bring in the Right Pros

Some jobs are not DIY. A roof leak gets worse every time it rains, so do not sit on it.

For roof damage, get a roofer out to inspect and give you a written estimate. That estimate also helps your insurance claim. A good local roofer knows how New Hampshire weather and snow loads factor into the repair, not just patching the hole.

Be careful with out-of-town crews that show up knocking on doors after a big storm. Hire local, check reviews, and get the work in writing before anyone climbs on your roof.

A Practical Takeaway

The pattern is the same every time. Stay safe first, inspect once the weather clears, document before you clean up, and call licensed local pros for trees, roofs, and water. Move fast on leaks and basement water, since both get worse and more expensive by the day. Keep a tarp, a battery backup for your sump pump, and the numbers for a trusted roofer and tree service on hand before the next storm rolls through. A little preparation turns a rough storm into a manageable cleanup.