The desert storm season
The North American Monsoon pushes moisture into Southern Nevada most summers. Afternoon thunderstorms build over the Spring Mountains and the valley’s edges, then drop intense rain, hail and wind. Every so often a Pacific hurricane or tropical storm weakens over Mexico or California and sends its remnants north, as Hilary did in 2023. Notable valley floods include July 1999 and July 2022, when water poured through streets and into buildings on and off the Strip.
What these storms damage
- Roof openings from lifted tile or flashing, followed by water through ceilings and walls.
- Wind-driven rain forced past windows, sliders and stucco penetrations.
- Saturated stucco and lath, insulation and drywall that need removal to dry properly.
- Mold growth when wet materials are not dried quickly, even in a dry climate.
- Pool equipment, landscape lighting and HVAC condensers hit by wind and debris.
Rain vs. flood: the question that decides coverage
Standard homeowners policies generally exclude flood, meaning surface water rising from outside, while covering rain that enters through a storm-created opening in the roof or walls. In a monsoon event, both can happen at the same property. Separating them is partly a coverage question, which belongs to the insurer and, if needed, the courts, and partly a measurement question about which rooms and materials were affected by which water, which an appraiser can help document.
Our approach
We document the water path room by room: where it entered, how high it reached and which materials were wet. That record gives the panel a clear basis for valuing the covered portion of the loss.
Questions about this service
Rain came in through my roof during a monsoon storm. Is that covered?
Typically, interior damage from rain entering through a storm-created opening is covered under a homeowners policy, subject to its terms. Water that rose from the ground outside is usually treated as flood.
How quickly should I dry things out?
Right away. Mitigation such as extraction, drying equipment and removing wet materials limits mold and is usually reimbursable. Keep receipts and photos.
Can appraisal split a loss between rain and flood?
An appraisal panel can value different parts of the damage separately, but whether each part is covered is ultimately a coverage decision.