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 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 explains the mechanics, and the post rot and termites guide shows how to test a post. When posts are the problem, 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:
- Push every post at shoulder height and mark any that move. One loose post can let a whole bay fold in high wind.
- 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.
- 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.
- Check the gates. The hinge post should be plumb, the latch should catch without lifting the gate, and any drop rod should seat fully.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Photograph the whole line with a date, including close views of posts at grade. Those pictures show the fence’s condition before any storm.
Not sure your posts will make it through the season?
Describe the fence, its age and which posts move, and start with an assessment of the whole line.
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).
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 page covers how the remaining line is assessed, the storm insurance guide covers documenting a claim, and the fence assessment tool 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 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 page explains those choices, and fence replacement covers taking out the old line.
Call Palisades Hammond Fence at (985) 866-3827 or request an estimate to have a fence checked before the next storm rather than after it.