Gutters · Palm Beach County
Gutters in Palm Beach County, FL
West Palm Beach averages 61.75 inches of rain a year, and in a 10-year storm its five-minute burst reaches 11.3 inches an hour, the hardest of the ten Florida points in our NOAA Atlas 14 data. Gutters here have to be sized for that burst, and Florida's code requires them on homes with short eaves.
Updated October 2026
Gutters in Palm Beach County, in short
Florida requires gutters and downspouts on homes whose eaves project less than 6 inches, with downspouts discharging at least 1 foot from the wall. Size for the burst, not the yearly total: a 6-inch half-round carries about 49% more water than a 5-inch at the same slope, and the five-minute storm rate at West Palm Beach tops Orlando's 8.71 inches an hour.
Rain
11.3 inches an hour, five minutes at a time
NOAA Atlas 14 measures rain by intensity as well as by total. At West Palm Beach, the five-minute rate is 11.3 inches an hour in a 10-year storm, 13.4 in a 25-year storm and 16.6 in a 100-year storm. Across the ten Florida points pulled for this site, the 10-year five-minute rate runs from 8.71 inches an hour at Orlando up to that 11.3.
Longer windows look calmer but add up: 3.54 inches in an hour and 9.38 inches over 24 hours in the same 10-year storm. Totals vary inside the county, from 72.19 inches a year at Juno Beach to 55.22 at Belle Glade, and 67.3% of the West Palm Beach airport's rain falls May through October.
Rain on your roof
Preset: 9.38 inches, the 10-year 24-hour rain (NOAA Atlas 14 at West Palm Beach).
11,687 gallons run off that roof, all of it toward the gutters and downspouts.
Math: square feet × inches × 0.623 gallons.
Sizing
What a 6-inch half-round can drain here
Florida's plumbing code sizes gutters by flow. A 5-inch half-round at 1/8 inch of fall per foot carries 74 gallons a minute; a 6-inch carries 110, about 49% more (FBC-P Table 1106.6). Downspouts have limits too: a 3-inch round leader carries 92 gallons a minute and a 4-inch round carries 192.
Now add local rain. Gutter sizing tables count one gallon a minute for every 96.15 square feet of roof under 1 inch an hour of rain. At the 5.24 inches an hour of a 100-year, one-hour storm at West Palm Beach, a 6-inch half-round serves about 2,020 square feet of roof plan area. At the 11.3-inch five-minute burst, it serves about 940. That is arithmetic on sourced numbers, not a code requirement, but it shows why a big roof may need larger gutters or more downspouts.
Florida code
When the code requires gutters
The Florida Building Code requires gutters with downspouts on buildings whose eaves project less than 6 inches, except at gable end rakes or on a roof above another roof (FBC-R R318.5; FBC-B 1503.7). The rule sits in the termite-protection section: downspouts must discharge at least 1 foot from the wall, by underground pipe, tail extension or splash block.
Gutters and leaders must be metal or approved plastic rated for outdoor exposure, with lapped, soldered or caulked joints, fastened with corrosion-resistant hardware that suits the gutter (FBC-R R903.4.2). Where the water lands matters too. The county has 47,856 flood insurance policies in force, and a downspout that empties at the foundation works against any lot that already drains slowly.
Storms
Hangers and storm wind
Milton's 2024 tornado tore roofs from Wellington to Jupiter Farms, and gutters hang off that same roof edge. One hidden-hanger maker lists 24 inches on center as standard spacing but recommends 16-inch spacing in coastal and storm-prone areas for added uplift resistance. On low-slope commercial roofs, a gutter that also holds down the membrane edge must be wind-designed and tested to SPRI GT-1 (FBC-B 1504.5).
For cleaning, Tower Hill, a Florida home insurer, suggests at least twice a year, spring and fall, and more often under overhanging trees or after frequent storms. Here, a pass before the September 10 peak of hurricane season is a sensible addition.
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Questions
Gutters in Palm Beach County: questions
Do homes in Palm Beach County need gutters?
Some do by code. The Florida Building Code requires gutters with downspouts where eaves project less than 6 inches, except at gable rakes or on a roof above another roof. On homes with deeper eaves they are optional, but the county's rain argues for them: West Palm Beach averages 61.75 inches a year, and August alone brings 8.68. Without gutters, that water drops along the foundation instead of landing a foot or more away.
Source: FBC-R Chapter 3, Oct 2026.
Should I get 5-inch or 6-inch gutters in Palm Beach County?
Size to your roof and the local burst rate. A 6-inch half-round carries about 49% more than a 5-inch at the same slope, 110 versus 74 gallons a minute in the plumbing code's table. West Palm Beach's 10-year, five-minute rain rate is 11.3 inches an hour, and at that rate a 5-inch half-round keeps up with only about 630 square feet of roof. Before choosing, have the roof area each gutter run serves measured, and count the downspouts.
Source: FBC-P Chapter 11, Oct 2026.
Where should downspouts drain on a Palm Beach County lot?
At least 1 foot from the house, by code, through underground pipe, a tail extension or a splash block. The rule sits in the code's termite-protection section, which says something about its purpose: keep water off the foundation. With 67.3% of West Palm Beach's yearly rain falling between May and October, those months show fast whether a lot drains well. If water pools near the slab after a summer storm, the downspout outlet is the first thing to move.
Source: FBC-R Chapter 8, Oct 2026.
How often should gutters be cleaned here?
At least twice a year, spring and fall, is the guidance from Tower Hill, a Florida home insurer, with more frequent cleaning under overhanging trees or after frequent storms. In Palm Beach County, August is the wettest month at 8.68 inches and hurricane season peaks around September 10, so having them clear by late summer matters most. NRCA's owner advice also pairs a fall and spring roof look with clearing leaves from the gutters.
Source: Tower Hill, Oct 2026.
Palm Beach County
More in Palm Beach County
Sources for this page(27)
- 1.NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (access data service). Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 2.NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (access data service). Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 3.Hurricane Milton (2024). NWS Miami, 'Hurricane Milton' StoryMap (preliminary data); NHC Tropical Cyclone Report AL142024. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 4.NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Climatology. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 5.NFIP flood insurance policies in force: 47,856. OpenFEMA FIMA NFIP Redacted Policies v2 (count query: effective on or before and terminating after 2026-10-05). Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 6.NOAA Atlas 14 (HDSC Precipitation Frequency Data Server). Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 7.2023 Florida Building Code, Plumbing, 8th ed., Chapter 11 (UpCodes viewer, unofficial transcription). Read Oct 5, 2026. FBC text read from UpCodes (unofficial transcription): check floridabuilding.org or the ICC viewer before quoting (spec 8.7). Source URL inherited from COM-20 (the research cites it "as COM-20").
- 8.bergerbp.com. Read Oct 5, 2026.
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- 17.FBCR Ch. 9, International Code Council (Florida Building Commission). Read Oct 4, 2026.
- 18.Florida Statutes, section 627.7011 (2026), Florida Legislature. Read Oct 4, 2026.
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- 27.NOAA Atlas 14 at West Palm Beach: 11.3 in/hr (5-minute, 10-year). NOAA Atlas 14 Volume 9 (Southeastern States) version 2, partial-duration series point estimates, via the HDSC PFDS endpoint (ops/research/v3/services/data/noaa-atlas14-florida-rainfall.tsv). Read Oct 5, 2026.
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Gutters in Palm Beach County
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