Before you inspect anything — read this
Storm damage inspections cause more injuries than the storms themselves. Every year homeowners fall from ladders, slip on wet shingles, and step through weakened decking while trying to assess damage themselves. The goal of your inspection is to gather enough information to describe the damage to your insurer and a contractor — not to fix anything or confirm anything from the roof surface.
Never get on the roof after a storm
A storm-damaged roof has unknown structural integrity. Wet shingles are as slippery as ice. Hidden decking damage can give way without warning. If your inspection requires you to get on the roof itself — stop and call a licensed roofer. A free professional inspection gives you a safer, more credible written report than anything you could gather yourself from the roof surface.
What you need before starting
- ✓ Smartphone with camera and timestamp enabled
- ✓ Flashlight or headlamp for attic
- ✓ Binoculars for ground-level roof inspection (optional but helpful)
- ✓ Notebook or voice memo app to record observations
- ✓ Waterproof footwear if there is indoor standing water
- ✗ Do not bring tools — you are not repairing anything today
- ✗ Do not go on the roof — stay at ground level and eaves only
Inside — the attic inspection
The attic is your most important inspection zone and the safest. Go in during daylight hours with a flashlight. The natural light helps you spot things artificial lighting can miss. Move carefully on joists — never step between them onto the insulation.
Look for daylight
Turn your flashlight off and let your eyes adjust. Any spots of daylight showing through the roof deck are direct evidence of a breach — missing shingles, cracked decking, or displaced flashing. Photograph each spot from below with your flashlight off so the daylight shows clearly in the image.
Check rafters and decking for water stains
Run your flashlight along the underside of the roof decking and the sides of rafters. Fresh water staining appears as dark streaks running down from a high point. Old staining is gray-brown and dry. New staining from a recent storm is the most important finding — it proves current active intrusion, not pre-existing damage.
Look for sagging or soft spots
From below, scan for any sections of decking that appear to bow downward or look darker and heavier than surrounding areas. This indicates water saturation or structural damage. Do not touch or probe these areas — report them to your contractor and stay clear.
Check insulation for wetness
Wet or matted insulation directly below a roof area is a sign of water intrusion from above. Note the location relative to the roof layout — this helps pinpoint the breach area on the exterior. Wet insulation also raises the mold risk timeline significantly.
Mold can establish in 24–48 hours in humid coastal climates
In Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and the Carolinas, wet insulation and wet decking after a storm will begin growing mold within 24–48 hours in summer conditions. Run fans in the attic immediately to begin drying — even before repairs are made. Document the wet areas first, then start drying. Mold remediation is a separate and expensive claim item that is far easier to prevent than treat.
Outside — the ground-level walk
Walk completely around your home slowly, looking up at the roofline from each angle. Use binoculars if you have them — they make a significant difference in what you can see from the ground. Photograph everything you notice even if you're not sure it's significant. Date and time stamps on photos are critical.
What to look for on the roof surface
Wind damage signs
- Missing shingles — bare dark patches on the roof
- Lifted or curled shingle tabs on one side of the roof
- Shingles visibly out of alignment or shifted
- Ridge cap shingles displaced or missing
- Shingles or debris on the ground around the home
Hail damage signs
- Dark circular bruised spots distributed randomly across shingles
- Granule accumulation in gutters and downspout splash areas
- Dents on aluminum gutters, downspouts, and AC unit fins
- Dents on metal flashing around chimney and vents
- Cracked or split shingles without a clear wind pattern
Flashing and seam damage
- Lifted or separated flashing at chimney base
- Flashing pulled away from wall intersections
- Visible gaps at valley seams where two roof planes meet
- Bent or displaced drip edge along eaves
Impact and debris damage
- Tree branches resting on or embedded in roof
- Impact craters or punctures visible from ground
- Crushed gutters from fallen debris
- Damaged fascia or soffit from falling limbs
Check your gutters and downspouts before looking at the shingles
Metal gutters and downspouts show hail dents more clearly than asphalt shingles — especially from the ground. If you see circular dents on your gutters or on any exposed metal surfaces like AC fins or vent caps, your roof has been exposed to hail regardless of what you can see on the shingles from below. This is your first signal to call for a professional inspection.
Walk the perimeter in both directions
Wind damage concentrates on the side of the roof facing the prevailing storm direction. Hail damage is more random. Walk fully around the home twice — once clockwise, once counterclockwise — to ensure you're seeing every roof plane from the best angle. The rear and sides of the home are often where the most damage is, and the first place adjusters look for evidence of pre-existing vs. storm-caused damage.
Up the ladder — eaves and gutter inspection only
This step is optional and only appropriate if you have a stable ladder, dry conditions, and you are comfortable at height. You are inspecting the eaves and gutters from the top of the ladder — not climbing onto the roof. Keep three points of contact on the ladder at all times. Have someone hold the base.
Check the first two courses of shingles at the eave
From the top of the ladder you can see the first shingle courses up close. Look for lifted tabs, cracked shingles, missing granules exposing the dark asphalt mat, and exposed nail heads where tabs have lifted. These are the most wind-vulnerable shingles on the roof and show damage earliest.
Inspect the gutters closely for granules and dents
From ladder height you can see inside the gutter trough. A thick layer of dark granules — especially after a storm — means shingles have taken a significant hit. A little granule shedding is normal; a gutter full of granules after one storm is a sign of major shingle damage. Photograph the gutter contents before any rain washes them away.
Check the drip edge and fascia
The drip edge — the metal strip along the eave where shingles overhang the gutter — is often bent, displaced, or separated after wind events. Damaged drip edge allows water to run behind the gutter and rot the fascia board. Note any gaps or bends and photograph them up close.
Do not step onto the roof surface under any circumstances
Everything above eave level requires a professional. Loose shingles are like loose tiles — they shift under foot pressure without warning. Wet or damaged decking can collapse. A professional inspector carries fall arrest equipment, knows where to step, and carries their own liability insurance for exactly this reason. If you need information from the ridge or the far side of a steep pitch — call a roofer.
Wind vs. hail — why the distinction matters for your claim
Your insurer and their adjuster will categorize your damage as wind, hail, or both. This matters because some policies have different deductibles for wind vs. hail, and because the repair approach differs. Knowing which type you have before you call helps you describe it accurately.
Wind damage — what it looks like
Wind damage is directional. Shingles lift, crack along stress lines, or blow off entirely — and the pattern concentrates on one side of the roof facing the storm. Lifted tabs expose the adhesive seal strip underneath, which appears as a shiny, darker stripe across the shingle. Once the seal breaks, wind-driven rain gets under the tab and into the deck.
Hail damage — what it looks like
Hail damage is random and scattered across the entire roof regardless of wind direction. On asphalt shingles, hail knocks granules off the surface leaving circular dark bruised spots where the asphalt mat is exposed. The granules are what protect the asphalt from UV degradation — once knocked off, the underlying asphalt ages rapidly. A Class 4 impact-resistant shingle is specifically designed to resist this granule displacement.
If you're replacing storm-damaged shingles, this is the moment to upgrade to Class 4. The cost difference per square is modest — the long-term savings on insurance premiums and repeat hail damage are significant. Ask every contractor quoting your job what the UL 2218 rating is for the shingle they're proposing.
Two more warning signs coastal homeowners often miss
Storm events reveal problems that already existed. These two signs don't require a recent storm to matter — and both are more common on the Gulf and Atlantic coast than almost anywhere else in the country.
Moss, algae, and dark streaking — a coastal accelerator
Dark streaks running down shingles are almost always algae — specifically Gloeocapsa magma, a blue-green algae that thrives in humid, warm conditions. In coastal markets like Florida, Louisiana, and the Carolinas, it can establish on a new roof within two to three years. Moss goes further — it anchors roots into shingle granules and holds constant moisture against the surface, degrading the asphalt binder beneath.
The key warning sign isn't the appearance — it's recurrence. If you clean it off and it keeps coming back in the same spots, something underneath is enabling it: poor drainage, debris accumulation in a valley, a section that stays shaded and damp, or granule loss that's left the asphalt surface more porous. Each of those conditions also makes that section more vulnerable when storm wind and rain arrive.
Gulf and Atlantic coast roofs grow algae 2–3x faster than drier climates
Algae-resistant shingles — which use copper-infused granules to inhibit growth — are worth specifying on any coastal replacement. Several manufacturers (GAF, CertainTeed, Atlas) offer Scotchgard-treated shingles specifically for humid markets. If you're replacing after storm damage, ask your contractor about algae-resistant options. The cost difference per square is small; the maintenance savings over a 20-year roof life are significant.
The same spot repaired twice — what it usually means
If you've had the same section of roof repaired more than once — same corner, same valley, same area around a vent — the repair hasn't solved the underlying problem. It's bought time. There are two reasons this happens:
The root cause wasn't addressed. A patch covers visible damage but doesn't fix why that spot is failing. Common culprits: inadequate flashing detail, a valley that channels too much water in heavy rain, fasteners pulling through aged decking, or a design feature (a dormer, a chimney, a parapet) that creates chronic water pooling.
The surrounding materials are failing too. A roof doesn't age uniformly. The repaired section may hold but the shingles within two feet are just as degraded — the next storm finds a new entry point immediately adjacent to the patch.
For insurance purposes this distinction matters: an adjuster seeing a roof with a repair history in the same location will often argue the damage is pre-existing rather than storm-caused. A documented pattern of repairs on the same spot, combined with a new storm event, strengthens the case for full replacement rather than another patch — but only if you have a licensed inspector's written scope that makes that argument clearly.
Document your repair history before you file
If you have receipts or records of previous repairs to the same area, include them with your claim documentation. This supports the argument that the storm damage is the final failure of a section that was already compromised — which strengthens the case for replacement coverage rather than a patch allowance from your adjuster.
What to do with what you found
If you found definitive damage
- ✓Call your insurer immediately. Florida requires claims within 1 year of the storm. Louisiana allows 2 years but adjuster backlogs build fast. File now, even if the scope isn't fully clear.
- ✓Request a free licensed inspection. Your attic and ground observations are useful but a licensed roofer's written scope is what the adjuster needs. A professional inspection gives you an independent dated document that supports your claim and can't be dismissed as self-serving.
- ✓Apply emergency tarp if there's an active breach. Do this before rain returns. Keep receipts — emergency tarp costs are typically reimbursable under your policy as a mitigation expense.
- ✓Run fans in any wet attic areas immediately. Drying starts the moment water stops coming in. Every hour of wet insulation in a warm coastal climate is an hour closer to mold. Document first, then dry.
If you couldn't see clear damage but something seems wrong
Interior staining, granules in gutters, or a vague sense that something shifted — these all warrant a professional inspection even without visible shingle damage from the ground. Some of the costliest damage is invisible from ground level: small punctures, lifted underlayment, and damaged ridge vents that won't be obvious until water intrudes weeks later.
When in doubt — a licensed inspection costs you nothing
A free inspection from a licensed roofer gives you a professional written scope, a dated record of damage, and expert judgment on what needs immediate attention versus what can wait. If there's no damage, you know. If there is damage, you have documentation that protects your claim from the moment the inspector signs off.