Oklahoma City, OK: Top Things to Know About Storage

When Disaster Strikes

Oklahoma City has a humid subtropical climate, meaning summers are very hot and humid.  However, we aren’t talking about the average humidity here—it’s very common for the city to experience really bad heat waves.  Winter, on the other hand, is very cold.  Temperatures often reach freezing, and there’s snowfall every year.  Then comes spring, which has a unique set of its own problems.  Warm air and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and cold, dry air from Canada often cause the creation of severe thunderstorms, hail, and tornadoes.  This generally takes place mid-April to early June, and is at its worst in May.  Besides that, there’s a lot of rain randomly throughout the year.

The scary thing about Oklahoma City is that it’s the most tornado-prone place in the world!  The city lies in the center of Tornado Alley and has frequent and severe tornadoes and hailstorms.  It’s not uncommon to have tornadoes passing by every month, which can be very scary for the residents.

If you’re looking to store your stuff in a storage facility, there a number of things you should look into.  First, make sure you rent a unit that has climate control.  You don’t want things like your precious artwork to be damaged because of the horrible heat and humidity.  Next, try to find a facility that has covered loading/unloading zones because of the frequent rain, and heated loading/unloading zones for the freezing winter.  This will help to ensure that your moving process is a lot more pleasant.  Lastly, with all of the tornadoes that the city endures, you’ll need to get insurance on your belongings in case disaster strikes and you experience a major loss.  Insurance is a beast of its own, so let’s tackle that next.

Insurance

The first thing you should do when you put your stuff into a storage unit is to keep an inventory of the items you put into storage.  Take a picture of everything and write down the estimated costs, especially for things like art and antiques because their prices aren’t obvious.  You may also need to get certain things valued by a professional so it’s not hard to make insurance claims if some unforeseen damage or loss occurs.

Next, make sure you get insurance on the belongings that you place in your unit.  Insurance policies vary in coverage, so first talk to a facility manager to see what kind of damage is likely to occur.  Tornadoes are a big concern, but you may also want to ask about things like water, debris, accidents, fires, and other natural disasters.  This way you’ll know what you’re up against.

You can’t always rely on homeowners and renters insurance.  These policies generally cover theft and natural disasters, but don’t cover flooding, earthquakes, and mold and mildew.  The biggest threats in Oklahoma City are tornadoes and flooding, so you’ll want to make sure you’re covered for those things!

Don’t worry if you don’t have renters insurance.  Most storage facilities offer insurance or can at least tell you where to get it.  Homeowners and renters insurance does offer better coverage, so we would recommend going through them if possible.

Student Takeover

Oklahoma City is home to tens of thousands of students.  The city has five major universities and at least a dozen more private colleges that bring in a lot of students.  Although the city’s 137 storage facilities have a combined total of 75,350 units, that number will start looking pretty small when you take into account that a lot of students use storage units throughout the year, and especially in the summer.  Add the military members in the area, along with other residents, and you’ve got a lot of competition for units.

If you’re looking to store your stuff at a facility, especially if you would like to do so at specific times of the year, start planning ahead.  Students generally take up the most units during the summer, so if you want to store your winter gear, make sure you book a unit in advance so there’s no chance that you won’t get one.  If you wait too long, you’ll be out of luck and will have to find a way to make space for your extra stuff at home.