How Should a Small Business Plan for Severe Weather Closures?

By Bill Stilwell · Last reviewed October 17, 2026

The short answer

A severe weather plan says who decides to close, how you keep people safe, how you tell customers, and how you reopen. When you close, update your Google Business Profile (GBP) the same day. Google says to use Special hours for closures of 6 days or fewer and mark the business Temporarily closed for 7 days or longer, or when you don’t know how long it will last. Update Bing, Apple, your website, and your phone greeting too.

What this means

The outline asks for four parts: closure, customer notice, employee safety, and recovery.

Closure: who decides, by when, and based on what (a weather warning, a power outage, road closures).
Customer notice: updating listings, the website, the phone greeting, and booked customers.
Employee safety: where people shelter, how you account for everyone, and when crews stop field work.
Recovery: checking damage, restoring systems, calling the insurer, and reopening.

Made-up example: A winter storm is forecast for Thursday at Maple Street Dental. On Wednesday afternoon, the office manager follows the plan. She sets Special hours on the GBP for Thursday as Closed, updates Bing and Apple, changes the voicemail greeting, posts a short note on the website, and texts every patient booked for Thursday to reschedule. Friday morning, she confirms power and heat are on and clears the special hours.

Why it matters

Wrong hours cost trust. Customers who show up to a closed door may not come back.
Status can affect visibility. Google says temporarily closed businesses can rank after open ones for broad searches. Leaving that status on after you reopen hides you for no reason.
People get hurt in storms. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says employers should plan where workers will shelter and how to account for everyone.
Recovery is faster with a plan. Backups, insurer contacts, and photos of your space before damage all speed up claims.

Who this applies to

Every business. Field crews, outdoor work, and storefronts face the most risk. Online businesses still need a plan for power and internet outages.

Some employers are required to have a written emergency action plan under OSHA’s rule at 29 CFR 1910.38. Ask a safety consultant or your state safety agency whether that applies to you. Many states run their own OSHA-approved programs.

How to do it

Prepare now:

Name the decision maker and a backup. Write down what triggers a closure, such as a warning from the National Weather Service, a power outage, or unsafe roads.
Pick shelter spots. OSHA suggests an interior room on the lowest floor, away from windows, for tornadoes. Keep a head count list.
Write a closure checklist with every place your hours appear: GBP, Bing Places, Apple Business, website, social profiles, phone greeting, booking tool (see 14.1.6 Hours).
Pre-write messages for customers and staff so you only fill in the date.
Back up records and keep insurer contacts printed (see 11.8 Business Backups and 10.8.5 Property Insurance).
Take photos of your space and equipment now, so you can show what changed after damage.

When severe weather is coming or hits:

Decide early and tell staff first.
Send field crews home or to shelter before conditions get dangerous.
Update your GBP. For 6 days or fewer, add Special hours and mark the day Closed. For 7 days or more, or if you don’t know, mark the business Temporarily closed. Google reviews edits, so update as early as you can.
Update Bing Places, Apple Business, your website, social profiles, and phone greeting.
Contact booked customers to reschedule (see 17.1 Scheduling).
Post a short update on your GBP if it helps (see 14.9.3 Posts and Updates).

Recovery:

Check that the space is safe before anyone returns.
Photograph any damage and call your insurer.
Restore systems from backups if needed.
Reopen your listings. Clear special hours or mark the business open again everywhere you changed it.
Review what worked and update the plan.

What proof to keep

The written weather plan and closure checklist
Screenshots of listing updates with dates
Messages sent to staff and customers
Damage photos and the insurance claim number
Notes from the post-storm review

Common mistakes

Forgetting to reopen the profile. A temporarily closed label left on for weeks hides you from searchers.
Only updating Google. Customers also use Apple Maps, Bing, your website, and your phone line.
Using Temporarily closed for a one-day closure. Google says Special hours are meant for short closures.
Waiting until the storm hits to decide. Staff and customers need notice.
No head count. You can’t confirm everyone is safe without knowing who was there.

When to get help from a pro

Insurance agent: to review property and business income coverage before storm season. Safety consultant: to set up shelter and emergency action plans. Questions to ask:

Does my policy pay for lost income if a storm closes us, and what proof do you need?
Are we required to have a written emergency action plan?
What should our shelter plan look like for this building?

Bill’s note

[Bill: add a short note. For example, a storm or outage that closed a client, how fast their listings were updated, and what happened with customers who showed up anyway.]

If you’d rather have your listings kept up to date for you, SiteSmarty handles Google Business Profile management.

How I did this for SiteSmarty

[Date I did this:]
[What I actually did, step by step: the closure checklist and pre-written messages for SiteSmarty]
[What it cost and how long it took:]
[What surprised me or what I’d do differently:]
[Screenshot or photo to add, with private info blurred: the Special hours screen in the SiteSmarty Google Business Profile]
[Result so far:]

Questions people ask

Should I mark my Google Business Profile temporarily closed during a storm? Only if you’ll be closed 7 days or more or don’t know when you’ll reopen. For shorter closures, Google says to use Special hours.

How do I tell customers we’re closed for weather? Update your listings, website, social profiles, and phone greeting, and contact anyone with a booking.

Does marking my profile temporarily closed hurt my ranking? Google says temporarily closed businesses can rank after open ones for broad searches. Switch back to open as soon as you reopen.

Where should workers shelter in a tornado? OSHA suggests a basement or storm cellar, or an interior room on the lowest floor away from doors, windows, and outside walls.

Audit check

Question: Does the business have a written severe weather plan that covers closure decisions, listing updates, employee safety, and recovery?
Pass looks like: A named decision maker, a closure checklist that lists every place hours appear, shelter spots and a head count method, pre-written messages, and insurer contacts on paper.
Fail looks like: No plan, hours updated only on Google or not at all, temporarily closed left on after reopening.
Evidence to collect: The written plan, screenshots of past listing updates, and staff training records.

Where this fits

Do this first: 14.1.6 Hours, 11.8 Business Backups, 10.8.5 Property Insurance

Do this next: 11.9.9 Platform Suspension Plan

Sources

Google Business Profile Help, "Mark your business as closed" (checked October 17, 2026)
Google Business Profile Help, "How to set Special hours" (checked October 17, 2026)
Google Business Profile Help, "Guidelines for representing your business on Google" (checked October 17, 2026)
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, "Tornado Preparedness and Response" (checked October 17, 2026)
Apple Support, "Maintain location information accuracy with Apple Business" (checked October 17, 2026)

This page explains general rules and Bill's own experience. It is not legal, tax, or insurance advice. Talk to a qualified professional about your situation.