# Fence Hurricane Straps and a Storm-Season Checklist > What fence hurricane straps do and don't fix, plus a storm-season checklist for Hammond-area fences: posts, rails, gates, limbs and photos before a storm. URL: https://palisadeshammondfence.com/blog/storm-season-fence-prep/ Dates and Deadlines Hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30. Straps tighten the joint between rails and posts, but the checklist starts at the ground line, where most storm failures begin. Last Updated: November 1, 2026 A strap holds the rail to the post. It cannot hold a rotten post in the ground. Mon to Fri 8 to 6 · Sat and Sun 9 to 2 Fence hurricane straps are galvanized metal straps or brackets that tie each rail to its post, so wind pushing on the boards can’t pull the rails off as nails loosen. They make the rail joint stronger. They don’t make a fence storm-proof: most fences that go down in a storm fail at the posts, at or just below the ground line, and a strap does nothing for a post that is rotting or rocking in wet soil. [Palisades Hammond Fence](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/) installs, repairs and rebuilds fences across Hammond, Tangipahoa Parish and the nearby towns of western St. Tammany and eastern Livingston Parish. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30 (NOAA), and this post is a checklist for the weeks before it, or before any forecast storm, starting with what straps can and can’t do. ## What a hurricane strap actually does Wind load travels a fixed path through a fence. It hits the boards, the boards pass it to the rails, the rails pass it to the posts, and the posts pass it into the soil. Every joint along that path has to hold. On many wood fences, the weakest joint above ground is where the rail meets the post, held by a few nails driven at an angle or through the rail face. Those nails work loose over time. Wood swells and shrinks with every wet and dry spell, nails rust in damp wood, and each cycle backs them out a little further. A strap or bracket wraps the joint and carries the load through several fasteners and a steel plate instead of a few nail shanks. ### Pick the right metal Material matters as much as the strap. The copper in modern pine treatments corrodes plain steel, so straps, brackets and the screws or nails that hold them should be hot-dip galvanized or stainless. A bright steel strap on treated pine can rust through faster than the nails it was meant to back up. ### Where straps help and where they don’t | Straps help when | Straps don’t fix | | --- | --- | | Nails at rail ends have rusted or backed out | Posts soft or broken at the ground line | | Rails are pulling away from the post face | Posts rocking in soft, wet soil | | A rail was toe-nailed between posts with no bracket | Posts set too shallow for the fence height | | Boards are being refastened anyway | A tall solid face on an exposed lot with light posts | The right column is where most storm failures start. The [why fences fail guide](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/guide/why-fences-fail/) explains the mechanics, and the [post rot and termites guide](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/guide/fence-post-rot-and-termites/) shows how to test a post. When posts are the problem, [fence post replacement](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/fence-post-replacement/) comes before any strap. ## A storm-season checklist for your fence Work through this list before June 1 or as soon as a season’s first storms start showing up in forecasts: 1. **Push every post** at shoulder height and mark any that move. One loose post can let a whole bay fold in high wind. 2. **Probe each post at the ground line** with a screwdriver. Wood that is soft an inch below the dirt is rotting even if it looks fine above. 3. **Check the rail joints.** Look for nail heads standing proud, gaps between rail and post, and rails that flex when pulled. Those joints are the ones to strap, bracket or rescrew. 4. **Check the gates.** The hinge post should be plumb, the latch should catch without lifting the gate, and any drop rod should seat fully. 5. **Trim limbs over the line.** Under Louisiana Civil Code article 688, a landowner can ask a neighbor to trim branches that extend over the line and interfere, at the neighbor’s expense. 6. **Clear vines and stacked items** off the fence. Vines hold moisture and catch wind, and anything leaning on a fence adds load or becomes debris. 7. **Keep the bottom clear.** Pull back soil, mulch and leaves from the boards and post bases so water drains away, and keep ditches along the line open. 8. **Photograph the whole line** with a date, including close views of posts at grade. Those pictures show the fence’s condition before any storm. ## Why the checklist is worth doing every year Storm wind and flood are a recurring pattern here, not a rare event. FEMA’s major disaster declarations covering Tangipahoa, Livingston or St. Tammany Parish since 2005 include Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, Ike, Isaac, Barry, Laura, Delta, Zeta, Ida and Francine, the 2016 floods, and Tropical Storm Arthur, declared for St. Tammany on June 30, 2026 ([OpenFEMA](https://www.fema.gov/openfema-data-page/disaster-declarations-summaries-v2)). Tropical systems usually bring rain before their strongest wind. The ground around the posts softens just as the load arrives, which is why a post that felt firm in a dry spring can rotate in a storm. A yearly check catches the posts that have started to move while they are still a repair. ## When a storm is in the forecast Once a storm is a day or two out, the job is to reduce what can move. Close and tie gates so they can’t swing. Bring in anything stored against the fence or loose in the yard, since it can be thrown into the line. Take a last set of photos if you skipped them earlier. Leave structural work for calmer days. Setting new posts right before a storm means concrete that hasn’t cured, in ground that is about to be soaked. ## After the storm Stay clear of any fence touching a downed power line and call the utility first. Before anything is moved, photograph the damage from a distance and up close, including whatever hit the fence. Then check the posts that are still standing, because a fence that took a falling limb has often lost posts that still look upright. The [storm-damaged fence repair](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/storm-damaged-fence-repair/) page covers how the remaining line is assessed, the [storm insurance guide](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/guide/storm-damaged-fence-insurance/) covers documenting a claim, and the [fence assessment tool](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/tools/fence-assessment/) helps sort what you are seeing. Homeowners report long waits for fence work after big storms; if you are weighing quotes in that rush, the [guide to hiring a fence contractor in Louisiana](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/blog/hiring-a-fence-contractor-in-louisiana/) covers the credentials to ask about. ## When prep turns into a rebuild If most posts in a run move when pushed, straps and patches only delay the next failure. A rebuild for storms changes the parts that carry the load: heavier or steel posts, closer spacing on tall solid runs, deeper footings that drain, and a face that lets some wind through where full privacy isn’t needed. The [wind-resistant fence](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/wind-resistant-fence/) page explains those choices, and [fence replacement](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/fence-replacement/) covers taking out the old line. Call Palisades Hammond Fence at [(985) 866-3827](tel:+19858663827) or [request an estimate](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/contact/) to have a fence checked before the next storm rather than after it. ## Questions about this post ### Are hurricane straps worth adding to an older wood fence? Only where the posts are still sound. Straps or brackets help when nails at the rail ends have rusted or backed out and the rails are working loose. If the posts move when pushed or are soft at the ground line, the money is better spent on the posts first, because a strapped rail on a failing post goes down with it. ### What should I photograph on my fence before storm season? The whole line from each corner, every gate, and close views of the posts at the ground line and the rail joints. Note the date. If a storm later damages the fence, those photos show its condition beforehand, which helps when an insurer asks whether the damage was sudden or came from rot and wear. ### How should a fence gate be secured when a storm is forecast? Close and latch it, set any drop rod fully into its keeper or ground hole, and add a second tie if the latch is loose. A gate left free to swing hammers its hinge post and latch in gusts and can tear its hardware out. Check afterward that the hinge post is still plumb before the gate goes back into daily use. ## Keep reading Learn Why Do Fences Lean, Rot and Blow Down Around Hammond? How fences are built here, the ways they fail in wet ground and storm wind, how to read the symptoms, and what a repair or a rebuild should change. Learn Does Homeowners Insurance Cover a Storm-Damaged Fence? What usually decides whether a fence claim is paid, how Louisiana's insurance regulator answers the falling-tree question, why flood is different, and how to document damage so the repair scope holds up. Learn Why Do Fence Posts Rot at Ground Level? Why decay concentrates in the few inches around grade, why treated posts still fail, how termite damage differs, how to test a post without pulling it, and what a lasting fix looks like. Decision Guide Should You Repair or Replace Your Fence? The one question that settles most cases, a walk-the-line check you can do yourself, the middle options between a patch and a rebuild, and the costs, rules and neighbor questions on each side. Learn How Should Fence Posts Be Set in Wet Clay Soil? What the ground under a Hammond-area fence is actually like, why posts rotate in it, how footing depth and type are chosen, and how a post hole that fills with water is handled.