Preparing Your Pool for Central Florida Storm Season

Central Florida's storm season runs from June 1 to November 30, and every Central Florida pool owner should have a repeatable plan for when a named storm enters the cone. The two most important rules: never fully drain the pool, and cut power to the equipment before wind arrives.

Draining a pool ahead of a hurricane sounds intuitive but is one of the most damaging things you can do. Orlando's water table sits shallow — sometimes just a few feet below grade — and an empty shell can pop out of the ground from hydrostatic pressure alone. Instead, lower the water by six to twelve inches to give runoff room, and let the storm do the rest.

Before landfall: shut off gas at the heater, cut power to the pump and heater at the breaker, remove and store loose pool furniture, and wrap the pump and heater in a heavy tarp secured with ratchet straps. Screen enclosure? Remove the screen panels if you have time and the enclosure is engineered for it — a taut screen becomes a sail in tropical-storm-force wind.

After the storm, wait for the equipment pad to dry before restoring power. If the pump was fully submerged in floodwater, do not run it — the motor should be inspected first. Skim organic debris continuously for the first several days and shock the pool to handle the biological load from storm runoff. A cloudy or green pool after a storm is normal; a persistent problem after 48 hours of aggressive treatment is worth a service call.