Storm Damage in Metro Atlanta: A Decade of What We’ve Seen

Fall storm season in Georgia brings two very different kinds of calls to Dry Pros: the summer-pattern flooded basement from a fast-moving thunderstorm, and the deep-freeze burst pipe that shows up once cold air finally breaks through. We’ve responded to both kinds, year after year, since opening in 2015.

Beyond Georgia, when storms call for it

Water damage restoration isn’t only a local trade. When major hurricanes have hit the Gulf Coast and Southeast, Dry Pros crews have mobilized to help with the response in Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. That kind of large-loss, high-volume experience is part of why our Metro Atlanta water damage restoration crews are equipped to handle a bad week here, not just a bad day.

The storm Georgia still talks about: December 2022

Late December 2022 brought what Georgia meteorologists and news outlets called a “once-in-a-generation” arctic blast, a fast, deep freeze right around Christmas that knocked out power across the state and caused a wave of burst pipes as homes that had never seen cold like that suddenly had frozen, then bursting, plumbing. Dry Pros was ready and equipped for it, responding to the power outages and burst-pipe calls that followed across our Metro Atlanta service area.

One of those calls came from Jennifer Stewart, whose review is still up on our Google profile:

I can’t thank T.J. and his team enough for the professional work done to my home. I had a pipe burst on Christmas Eve and they immediately came out to start the process of drying my home. I would highly recommend Dry Pros for water mitigation. Their quick response and thoroughness took a stressful situation and gave me the peace of mind that my house was dry and mold free.

Jennifer Stewart, Google review

That’s the pattern we see every time a hard freeze hits Georgia: pipes that have sat fine for years fail all at once, usually on a holiday, usually overnight. Having a crew that’s already lived through it once means we know what the first hour of that call needs to look like.

What a decade of storm response has taught us

A few things hold true no matter which storm it is:

Burst pipes cluster right after the freeze breaks, not during it. The failure usually happens as pipes thaw, not while they’re frozen solid, which is why the days right after a cold snap are often busier than the cold snap itself.

Power outages compound water damage fast. A sump pump that can’t run during an outage turns a manageable basement leak into a full flood within hours.

Insurance timelines matter more in a widespread event. When a freeze or storm hits an entire region at once, adjusters are stretched thin. Having a restoration company that documents thoroughly from the first visit, the way we did with Ms. Stewart’s claim, makes a real difference in how smoothly that process goes.

For a closer look at how often storm and water damage actually strikes Georgia homes, see our water damage statistics and facts page, or the more narrative water damage by the numbers breakdown.

Heading into this fall’s storm season

Georgia’s fall severe weather window is active right now. The same preparation that would have helped before December 2022 still applies today: clear gutters and downspouts, know where your main water shutoff is, and save a number you can call the moment something goes wrong, not after you’ve already tried to handle it yourself.

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