What to Do After Hail or Wind Damage in Texas

Impact bruising on asphalt shingles is visible immediately after the event. Granule displacement, the loosening of the protective granule layer, may not be fully apparent until days or weeks later as loose granules wash out. Interior staining from water intrusion can take days to weeks to appear depending on the damage location and weather conditions following the event.

Hail 1 inch in diameter or larger is the threshold most commonly associated with meaningful asphalt shingle damage. Sub-inch hail can damage soft metals, gutters, and painted surfaces without necessarily damaging shingles. Impact-resistant shingles significantly raise the threshold: Class 4 rated shingles are tested against 2-inch steel ball drop simulations.

Post-event hail size is estimated from storm spotter reports, weather service data, and physical impact evidence, primarily soft metal impact diameter. The consistent circular dent pattern on gutters and AC condenser tops is a more reliable field indicator than trying to measure hail that has melted.

Document first, then report, the same week. Spend about 30 minutes taking dated photos from the ground, then tell your insurer about the damage in writing; the Texas Department of Insurance tells homeowners to file a claim quickly. A documented inspection gives you your own record of the roof before any repair starts.

Yes. Strong wind can lift and separate shingles, particularly at eave edges, ridgelines, and areas with inadequate fastener coverage. Straight-line winds from severe thunderstorms and tornadoes cause roofline separation, fascia damage, and sometimes catastrophic failure. Hail and wind often occur together in Texas storm events.

A storm chaser is a roofing contractor, often from out of state, who deploys to a market following a significant hail event. They work quickly, sign contracts aggressively, and move to the next market after the storm cycle ends. Warning signs: pressure to sign immediately, vague written scope, no verifiable local address, asking you to sign over insurance rights, or offering to waive, absorb or rebate your deductible, which is a crime in Texas.

If hail fell on your street, yes, and the reason is that the damage that matters is usually invisible from the ground. A functional hail impact fractures the mat underneath the surface while the shingle still looks whole, and it will not leak for months or years. Texas heat then works on the fractured area faster than it works on the rest of the roof. The first step costs nothing: your own dated photos of the roof and property, taken before you call anyone and yours to keep whatever you decide.

Sooner is better, and the reason is specific rather than urgent-sounding. Wind that breaks the sealant bond leaves a shingle that is unlikely to reseal on its own (GAF TAB-R-143); it may lie flat again and look sound from the ground, which is why the record has to be made up close and soon. Hail bruising does not fade the same way, but the ability to tie it to a particular storm does, especially once a second storm has passed over. None of that means signing anything the same week. Get it recorded, then read your policy, then talk to contractors.

Stay on the ground and look at soft metal, because it dents at smaller stone sizes than a shingle bruises at and it holds the dent permanently. Gutters, downspouts, drip edge, vent caps, the furnace and heater caps, and the fins on the air conditioning condenser. Then window screens, fence tops, deck rails and the mailbox. Photograph what you find and note which side of the house it is on, because a dent has a direction and that tells you which slopes were hit. If every soft surface around the house is clean, meaningful roof damage is unlikely. If they are covered, the roof took the same hits.