Atmospheric River Season: How to Prepare Your Home’s Exterior

Pacific Northwest homeowners are used to rain. What catches many people off guard are atmospheric rivers: long, narrow bands of moisture that can park over Western Washington and drop heavy rain for a day or more, often paired with strong winds. These storms tend to arrive in late fall and winter, and they are the events that expose weak spots in a home’s exterior.

A roof with a single lifted shingle, a gutter clogged with fir needles, or a window with a cracked perimeter seal might get by in a normal drizzle. Under an atmospheric river, those small problems can turn into ceiling stains, soaked crawl spaces, and rotted sheathing. As a local exterior contractor, Red Raven Exteriors gets a surge of calls after every major storm. Most of the damage we see could have been prevented or reduced with some preparation in late summer or early fall.

Here is how to get your home ready, working from the top down.

Start With the Roof

Your roof takes the brunt of any storm, so it deserves the most attention.

What to look for from the ground (use binoculars if you have them):

• Missing, cracked, curled, or lifted shingles
• Exposed nails or shingles that look out of line with the rest of the roof
• Damaged or loose flashing around chimneys, skylights, and vent pipes
• Thick moss growth, which holds water against the roof and can lift shingles
• Sagging areas along the ridge or roof plane

What to check inside:

• Look in the attic on a bright day for pinholes of daylight coming through the roof deck
• Check for water stains, damp insulation, or dark spots on the underside of the sheathing
• Make sure bathroom and kitchen fans vent outside, not into the attic

If your roof has heavy moss, our guide to roof moss prevention explains safe removal methods. If your roof is approaching the end of its expected life, it is better to plan a replacement on your schedule than during an emergency. Our article on how long roofs last in the PNW can help you gauge where yours stands. For a thorough evaluation, a professional roof inspection before storm season is money well spent.

Clear and Test Your Gutters

During an atmospheric river, your gutters may be asked to move more water in an hour than they handle in a typical week. Clogged or undersized gutters overflow, dumping water against your siding and foundation.

1. Clean them out after most of the fall leaves have dropped, and again in early winter if you have heavy tree cover. Our fall gutter maintenance checklist walks through the full process.
2. Flush every downspout with a garden hose to confirm water flows freely all the way through.
3. Check for sagging sections and leaking seams. Standing water in a gutter usually means the pitch is off or a hanger has failed.
4. Watch them during the first heavy rain. Water sheeting over the front edge is a sign of clogs, poor pitch, or gutters too small for the roof area feeding them.

If you are tired of repeated cleanouts under fir and cedar trees, read our honest take on whether gutter guards are worth it.

Move Water Away From the Foundation

A lot of storm-related water damage does not come from the roof at all. It comes from water collecting next to the house and finding its way into crawl spaces and basements.

• Make sure every downspout discharges at least several feet away from the foundation using extensions, splash blocks, or underground drain lines.
• Check that soil and landscaping slope away from the house, not toward it.
• Clear leaves and debris from yard drains, catch basins, and driveway drains.
• If your crawl space has a sump pump, test it before the first big storm.

Our guide to downspout drainage solutions covers the options in detail, and our downspout installation team can reroute problem downspouts.

Inspect Your Siding and Trim

Wind-driven rain pushes water sideways into any gap it can find. Walk the perimeter of your home and look closely at:

• Caulk joints around windows, doors, trim, and siding butt joints. Cracked or shrunken caulk should be replaced with a high-quality exterior sealant.
• Siding boards that are cracked, warped, loose, or swollen at the bottom edges.
• Paint failure, especially peeling or bare spots on wood or fiber cement, which lets moisture soak into the material.
• Areas near grade where siding sits too close to soil, mulch, or a patio surface.

Soft or swollen siding is often a sign that water is already getting behind the wall. Our post on signs you need new siding explains what to look for, and our siding repair service can address isolated damage before it spreads.

Check Windows and Doors

Windows are one of the most common entry points for storm water. Before the season starts:

• Look for gaps or cracked caulk where the window frame meets the siding or trim.
• Clear the weep holes at the bottom of vinyl and aluminum window frames so water can drain out.
• Look for fogging between panes, which indicates a failed seal.
• Check interior sills and the drywall below windows for staining or soft spots after heavy rain.

Repeated leaks around the same window often point to failed flashing behind the siding, not just a caulking problem. In that case, full-frame window replacement lets us repair the opening and install proper flashing. Our guide on when to replace windows can help you decide.

Prepare Decks, Trees, and Outdoor Items

• Trim branches that overhang your roof or could fall on the house in high winds. Have an arborist evaluate large trees that lean toward the home.
• Secure or store patio furniture, umbrellas, and anything that could become a projectile.
• Clear deck board gaps so water drains instead of pooling. Our deck winterizing guide covers the full process.

Build a Simple Storm Kit

Even well-maintained homes can take damage in a severe storm. A few supplies make it much easier to limit the harm:

• A heavy-duty tarp, rope, and sandbags
• Towels and buckets for interior leaks
• Flashlights and extra batteries
• Your insurance policy number and your contractor’s phone number saved in your phone

Never climb onto a wet roof during or immediately after a storm. If damage occurs, follow the steps in our guide to what to do after storm damage to your roof, and call a professional for storm damage roofing help.

Your Pre-Storm Exterior Checklist

1. Inspect the roof for missing shingles, flashing issues, and moss
2. Check the attic for leaks and daylight
3. Clean gutters and flush downspouts
4. Direct all downspout water away from the foundation
5. Recaulk gaps in siding, trim, windows, and doors
6. Clear window weep holes
7. Trim overhanging branches and secure outdoor items
8. Assemble a basic storm kit

Get a Head Start Before the Storms Arrive

The best time to fix a weak spot is before it is tested. Contractor schedules fill quickly once the first big storm hits, so late summer and early fall are the ideal time to book repairs.

Contact Red Raven Exteriors to schedule a pre-storm exterior assessment for your roof, gutters, siding, and windows. We serve homeowners throughout Kirkland, Bellevue, Redmond, Bothell, Woodinville, and the rest of King County. For more seasonal checklists and storm-season tips, subscribe to our RSS feed or head back to the Red Raven Exteriors home page to explore all of our services.