A wind state more than a storm state
Powerful Pacific lows reach Washington most winters. Some are historic: the Columbus Day Storm of October 1962, the Inauguration Day Storm of January 1993, the Hanukkah Eve Storm of December 2006 and the bomb cyclone of November 19, 2024, which cut power to hundreds of thousands of Puget Sound homes. East of the mountains, the November 2015 windstorm brought down trees and power lines across Spokane.
Tornadoes are rare but not unknown. A 1972 tornado damaged parts of Vancouver, and an EF-2 tornado struck Port Orchard in December 2018. Brief tornadoes and downbursts can also cause damage in eastern Washington during summer storms.
How wind claims go wrong
- Lifted shingles that resealed and are approved as a handful of repairs instead of a slope replacement.
- Siding replaced only on the damaged wall, leaving obvious mismatches on a continuous elevation.
- Fences, sheds and carports valued at a token amount without measured lengths or materials.
- Interior water damage from wind-driven rain treated as a separate, excluded leak.
- Debris removal, tree removal and temporary protection under-documented.
Evidence that holds up
Wind damage is directional. We photograph each elevation, note which slopes faced the wind, and record crease lines, missing tabs and broken seal strips. We tie that to the storm on your date of loss using public weather records. When a fallen tree is part of the claim, see our tree impact appraisal page.
Frequently asked questions
How do I prove when the wind damage happened?
Dated photos, neighbor claims, utility outage records and National Weather Service storm reports all help tie damage to a specific event.
My power was out for days and food spoiled. Is that covered?
Some policies offer limited coverage for food spoilage after a power outage, often as an endorsement. Check your policy and declarations page.
Can wind damage be found months later?
Yes. Creased shingles and broken seals are easy to miss. Report it as soon as you find it and keep a record of when and how you discovered it.
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