You will lose satellite reception during heavy storms. It serves as a last minute warning.
It's probably less than an hour a year for me. Make sure you get the big dish.
I've never had that happen before, Redleg. In the spring we do get solar flares that can disrupt the satellite signal for a few minutes, but that's to be expected. If the snow piles up too high on the thinga-ma-bob (lol), I do go out and knock it off. We're in the eastern Interior of Alaska where we have plenty of thunderstorms and snowstorms. I wonder if the reason you lose reception during heavy storms has more to do with the way your dish is mounted outside? Maybe the wind moves it?