North Texas Storm Season Prep: Protecting Your Home and Contents

Storm Season Is Coming — Are You Ready?

North Texas storm season typically runs from March through June, with peak tornado activity in April and May. The DFW metroplex sits in one of the most active severe weather corridors in the country. Every year, homes across Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Arlington, and Dallas take direct hits.

You can't stop a tornado, but you can prepare — and the difference between being ready and being caught off-guard can mean months of stress and a much harder recovery.

Most situations like this end up requiring a Dallas packout services, where contents are removed, documented, and stored before reconstruction begins.

Review Your Insurance Policy Now

Don't wait until after a storm to find out what your policy covers. Before storm season, review these key areas:

- Dwelling coverage — Is it enough to rebuild at current construction costs?

- Contents coverage — Does it cover replacement cost or actual cash value? Replacement cost is significantly better.

- Deductible — Many Texas policies have separate wind/hail deductibles. Know your number.

- Additional living expenses (ALE) — If your home is uninhabitable, this covers hotel, meals, and temporary housing.

Document Your Contents Before the Storm

The single best thing you can do right now: walk through your home with your phone and record a video of every room. Open closets, drawers, cabinets. Narrate what you see — brands, models, quantities.

Store this video in the cloud (Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox) — not just on your phone. If your home is destroyed, your phone may go with it.

This video becomes critical evidence for your insurance claim. Without it, you're relying on memory to list every item in your home — and you'll inevitably forget a significant number of belongings.

Many situations require full removal, storage, and documentation of contents — see insurance packout coordination for how billing and adjuster coordination work.

In many cases, items can be contents cleaning after a fire rather than replaced, depending on how quickly the contents are handled after the loss.

Protect High-Value Items

Certain items need special attention before storm season:

- Fine art and antiques — Consider scheduling these on your insurance policy (itemizing them with appraised values). Standard contents coverage may cap at $2,500 per item.

- Electronics — Keep purchase receipts or screenshots. Serial numbers help with claims.

- Important documents — Store originals in a fireproof safe or safe deposit box. Keep digital copies in the cloud.

- Jewelry and collectibles — These often need a separate rider on your policy for full coverage.

What to Do When the Storm Hits

If your home takes damage during a storm:

1. Stay safe — Don't enter damaged areas until it's structurally cleared.

2. Document immediately — Photos and video of all damage, inside and out.

3. Call your insurance — File the claim right away.

4. Call Total Packout Solutions at 214-718-1685 — we'll have a crew on-site the same day to start protecting your contents from secondary damage.

5. Don't sign with the first contractor who knocks on your door — storm chasers descend on DFW after every major event. Use vetted, insured professionals.

Learn more about how water damage contents are sorted, cleaned, and stored during the recovery process.

See the full insurance packout process for a step-by-step breakdown of how the work is approved, billed, and completed.