The Met Office confirmed the storm names for the 2026/27 season earlier this month, with meteorological autumn officially starting on 1 September after what it's calling England's warmest summer on record. A long hot summer is a mixed blessing for gutters and gardens: less rain has meant less flushing-through, so a summer's worth of leaves, moss and debris has had all season to build up undisturbed. That's exactly the blockage that turns the first named storm of the year into an overflowing gutter, a soaked fascia board, or water finding its way in somewhere it shouldn't.
Why now, specifically, is the window that matters
A gutter that's slightly blocked copes fine with a light shower. It's the first sustained, heavy, wind-driven rain of a named storm that exposes the problem — water backs up, overflows at the weakest point, and runs down a wall it was never meant to touch. Clearing that blockage before the storm arrives is a straightforward job. Discovering it during the storm, with water already coming through, is a much bigger one. The gap between those two outcomes is usually just a few weeks of getting ahead of the season.
What we can safely sort for you
Jobs a Kirk Group Handyman visit covers ahead of storm season:
- Clearing accessible gutters and downpipes of leaves, moss and debris using proper ladder safety and, where needed, gutter-clearing tools designed for the job
- Checking and resecuring loose fence panels, gate latches and garden furniture that could become storm debris
- Trimming back overhanging branches that could scrape a roof or fence line in high wind
- Checking shed and outbuilding doors and roof felt for anything that's come loose over summer
- Clearing garden drains and gullies of leaves so surface water has somewhere to go
What we won't do — and why that's the right call
We don't work on roofs above what's safely reachable from a properly footed ladder, and we don't touch anything electrical — an outdoor light fitting, a garden power socket, a satellite dish cable. Roof work at height and anything behind a socket or switch needs a specialist with the right kit and the right insurance for that specific risk, not a generalist handyman stretching a job to fit. If your gutter clearing turns up a section of guttering that's actually come away from the fascia, or you need an outdoor electrical fitting checked before the weather turns, that's a job for a roofer or Kirk Group's sister company Cor — we'll tell you honestly rather than have a go.
"The blockage that causes a storm-season leak has usually been sitting there quietly since June. Clearing it in September is a half-hour job. Discovering it mid-storm is a very different afternoon."
Booking before the season's first warning
Once the first amber or yellow storm warning lands for Derby and Derbyshire, every gutter clearer and handyman in the area gets booked out fast — the same pattern we see every year. Getting it done now, while the weather's still calm, means you're not competing for a slot once everyone else has had the same idea at the same time.
Get ahead of storm season
Kirk Group Handyman covers gutter clearing, garden securing and pre-storm checks across Derby and Derbyshire.
Published by Kirk Group Editorial
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