As a peninsular region surrounded by water on three sides, Florida is often subjected to extremely strong winds every hurricane season. Much of Florida is designated as a wind borne debris region (WBD). If you live in one of these areas, it’s important to know and to be prepared for strong winds and the debris.
But, which parts of Florida are designated as wind borne debris regions? And how can you prepare your home if you live in one of these regions?
The Wind Borne Debris Region Map
This map from My Florida Fact shows the areas of our great state that are considered wind-borne debris zones and visualized the basic wind speeds of each zone.
Looking at the map, you can see that areas closer to the coast are largely considered wind-borne debris regions and tend to face stronger winds than inland regions like Polk County or Lake County.
The entirety of Pinellas County and a large portion of Hillsborough County fall within a windborne debris zone with basic wind speeds of 140 mph or higher. A smaller portion of Pasco County is also in the WBD region.
That covers pretty much the entire greater Tampa area.
What Does Being in a Wind Borne Debris Region Mean for My Home?
Hurricane Impact Resistance Requirements
So, what does it mean if your home is in a windborne debris zone? First of all, it means that your home needs to be built to stand up to 140+ mph winds and the objects they can throw (the wind-borne debris).
In other words, you need hurricane impact windows and doors for your home.
This is what the MIssile Impact D testing standards for large and small missiles test for. Under the Large Missile Impact D test, a 2×4 weighing nine pounds is fired at the test sample, typically a window or door, to see how well it holds up.
If three test specimens of a window successfully repel two impacts without failing, they’ll then be subjected to a cyclical pressure test to verify whether there’s any air leakage from the samples.
The Small Missile Impact Test fires thirty small (2 gram) steel balls at the window or door being tested to simulate the smaller pieces of wind borne debris that a storm can pick up and throw at a building.
Like with the large missile test, windows and doors that withstand the small impacts are put through a cyclic pressure loading test. If the window or door holds up after both the Large and Small missile tests, it can be considered an impact window or impact door.
Potential Evacuation Orders
When major storms hit Florida, residents living in the windborne debris zones might be ordered to evacuate for their own safety.
The state of Florida’s “Know Your Zone” map highlights the different evacuation zones. Those living in the red-highlighted areas are in ‘Evacuation Zone A’ which is the zone most likely to be evacuated first when there’s a major storm in the state.
These zones face an especially high risk of storm damage caused by heavy rain, wind, and wind-borne debris.
However, even if your home isn’t in a high-priority evacuation zone, your home may still be subjected to extreme wind and debris from a major storm. This is why it’s important to use impact windows and doors when you live in a wind borne debris region.
WIth impact-resistant windows and doors, your home is more likely to withstand the worst of what hurricane season can throw at it.
How Does a Window Breaking Compromise My Home?
When your home’s located in a wind-borne debris region, it’s more likely to be struck by large, heavy objects and small, hard, fast-moving objects during a major storm, not to mention the near-constant pressure of the wind.
In most homes, the windows are the weakest point in the wall. When an object strikes a non-impact window, the window may shatter. This compromises your home in several ways and may even lead to a total structural collapse.
Some of the potential harm caused by a window failing during a hurricane include:
- Water Intrusion. The most common form of home damage that happens after a window failure is water intrusion. When a window breaks, rainwater can come into the home. If the water isn’t removed, it can lead to further damage as it compromises the materials in your home.
- Mold Damage. Unresolved water intrusion can promote the growth of mold in a home, including dangerous black mold that poses a respiratory hazard to a home’s occupants. It can also weaken building materials.
- Pest Infestations. Open windows create an easy intrusion route for all kinds of pests, from ants to termites, wasps, rats, and more.
- Windborne Debris Intrusion. A large opening in the home could let in storm debris (trash, rocks, etc.) and storm water with all kinds of pathogens in the home. This can be extremely expensive to remediate after a storm.
- Total Structural Collapse. If the wind from a hurricane is strong enough, the pressure changes can cause severe damage to the home. For example, uplift forces from wind getting in the house can make it easier for the roof to fail, which may then compromise the frame of the home and lead to walls collapsing which would not have fallen if the window or door in question had held.
The internal walls of a home are often more susceptible to failure than the external walls are–and even external walls may fail if wind blows against them from the inside while the suction pressure opposite the wind source pulls on the house from the outside.
Protect Your Home from Wind-Borne Debris with Hurricane-Rated Windows!
Karoly Windows & Doors specializes in installing high-performance impact windows and doors for homeowners in the greater Tampa area. Our team of in-house professionals do every installation the right way—we don’t cut corners.
This helps ensure that your impact windows are able to withstand the extreme wind and rain of a major storm in a wind borne debris region, helping you save money on home repairs and cleanup after the storm is over.
Reach out to Karoly to schedule an in-home consultation and get a quote for hurricane windows and doors for your home before the next big storm hits!
