How to Spot Hail and Wind Roof Damage After a Summer Storm

Start where the evidence lands: the ground

Before you look up, look down. The debris around your home tells you how hard the storm hit and where to focus.

• Check gutters and downspout splash areas for shingle granules — a pile of black, sand-like grit means the protective surface of your shingles took a beating.
• Look for pieces of shingle, ridge cap, or flashing in the yard.
• Inspect softer, easy-to-dent surfaces that hail hits the same way it hits your roof: gutters, downspouts, window screens, the AC condenser fins, and any metal vents. Dents there strongly suggest dents up top.
• Note damage to fences, decks, and painted surfaces — insurers use these "collateral" clues too.

What hail damage looks like

Hail does not usually punch holes. It bruises. On asphalt shingles the classic sign is a random scatter of dark, soft spots where the granules have been knocked away, often with no clear pattern — that randomness is exactly what tells a roofer it was hail and not foot traffic or wear.

• Round, dark bruises where granules are missing, soft to the touch if you can reach one safely.
• Shiny asphalt showing through where the surface layer is gone.
• Dented or cracked metal on vents, valleys, and flashing.
• On wood or metal roofs: splits, dents, or chipped coating.

What wind damage looks like

Wind works differently — it lifts, creases, and tears. High gusts break the adhesive seal that holds each shingle down, and once a shingle has been folded back it rarely re-seals, leaving a path for water even after it lays flat again.

• Missing shingles, or shingles visibly lifted, curled, or flapping.
• A horizontal crease line across a shingle where it was folded back and dropped.
• Exposed nail heads or torn-away tabs along ridges and edges, where wind pressure is highest.
• Damaged or displaced ridge cap and flashing around chimneys and vents.

Check inside, too

• Look in the attic with a flashlight for damp insulation, water stains on the underside of the deck, or daylight coming through.
• Scan ceilings and the tops of interior walls for fresh brown stains or bubbling paint.
• Photograph everything — dated photos of both exterior and interior damage are the backbone of a clean insurance claim.