Is Your Contracting Business Ready for this Year’s “Super” El Niño?

Meteorologists have posited that a “super” El Niño is brewing in the Pacific Ocean – and will potentially trigger severe thunderstorms, derechos, flooding, extreme heat, fires, tornadoes, and hurricanes across the country this summer. The severe weather events that are likely to unfold over the coming months put homeowners in a perilous position: storm surges, fallen trees, flooding, and fires can crush roofs, blow out windows, tear away siding, and cause widespread destruction.

If you own a roofing or contracting company, expect business to spike this summer. To accommodate the predicted increase in demand, you must have a flexible, scalable system in place. If you and your staff are already struggling to keep up with calls, schedule jobs, and submit insurance claims, now is the time to reevaluate your approach.

How Different Regions Will Be Impacted

Northeast

According to reporting from WBUR, both temperatures and humidity are expected to soar in the Northeast this summer. In addition to extreme heat, the excess moisture in the atmosphere will likely dial up both the frequency and intensity of rainfall and thunderstorms.

Midwest & Northern Great Plains

AccuWeather forecasts that the Plains and Midwest will be hit with a barrage of severe weather events throughout the summer. These include thunderstorms and derechos throughout the region in July and August, and flash flooding in the Plains and Ohio and Mississippi Valleys.

Texas & Southern Plains

Meteorologists from NOAA predict that this year’s El Niño is unlikely to end the 6-year drought in the Southern Plains. Instead, storms hitting the parched ground could cause flash floods similar to the costly and deadly flooding that hit Texas last summer.

Northwest, Southwest, Rockies & Great Basin

California, the Pacific Northwest, the Rockies, and the Great Basin are expected to be blanketed in extreme heat this summer. The heat, combined with drought and below-average snowpack, put the region at increased risk of wildfires starting as early as May and extending into the fall.

The Contractor Scaling Conundrum

When storms hit this summer, will your business be ready to handle an influx of calls?

Many growth-minded contractors struggle to scale sustainably. Oftentimes, new business precedes hiring, so contractors find themselves in a tricky position: they lack the manpower needed to respond to leads as they pour in. To respond to increased demand, business owners often step in to answer phones, respond to emails, and collect payments. But by working in the business instead of on it, they ironically become bottlenecks that halt continued growth. 

Prepare Your Business for the 2026 El Niño with Virtual Assistants

If you lack the dedicated administrative support needed to respond to an increase in demand this summer, start building flexibility and resiliency now.  For most organizations, the solution isn’t a full-time, local hire or call center – it’s a virtual assistant (VA).

Unlike local hires, VAs don’t come saddled with overhead costs – like benefits, office space, and equipment – and their services can be flexed up or down easily. Unlike call centers, VAs support jobs through their entire lifecycles. They follow up on leads, rehash old estimates, create and follow up on quotes, schedule jobs, send invoices, and help you stay on top of insurance claims.

SMA Support provides contracting businesses with fully trained, dedicated VAs with robust contracting industry experience. Our assistants hit the ground running and can help you take on more business this summer when demand will likely spike.

If you’re ready to learn how an SMA VA can help your business ride out the upcoming storm season, contact us or schedule a profit leakage audit.

Schedule a Profit Leakage Audit