A storm does not care if your calendar is full or you are out of town. When high wind, hail, or heavy snow tears at shingles and drives rain under flashings, the clock starts ticking. Water takes the easiest path down, and it rarely announces itself at the point of entry. I have traced ceiling stains to a lifted shingle thirty feet upslope, and I have opened a soffit to find a week’s worth of drip that never reached the living room. The first hours after a storm shape both the cost and the complexity of repair, so a calm, methodical approach matters more than a heroic one.
First, make it safe
I have seen homeowners step onto slick roofs in wet sneakers and end the day in an emergency room. Skip the ladder until the weather is truly calm. If stones are still rolling across your driveway, it is not inspection time yet. Inside the house, shut down any ceiling fans beneath a leak so you do not fling moisture across drywall, and move furniture and rugs. Put a bucket under active drips and tape a string from the ceiling to the bucket to guide water cleanly. If a ceiling bulges, do not poke it blindly; put on safety glasses, put a plastic tote beneath, and pierce the lowest point with a screwdriver to relieve pressure in a controlled way. A ceiling cavity can hold several gallons, and an uncontrolled release can break drywall across a room.
Outside, take a slow walk around the property. Look up, not just ahead. Are there branches hanging on power lines near the roof edge? Call the utility before you think about cleanup. Do you see missing shingles, torn ridge caps, or aluminum flashing folded back around a chimney? Photograph what you can from the ground. Your best record is a set of time-stamped, wide and close images taken before any temporary fix. Insurers do not expect you to climb, but they do like evidence.
Know what storm damage looks like
Storm damage has a signature, and that signature helps you decide your next move. Hail leaves shallow, round bruises on asphalt shingles, often with granules knocked off around the impact zone. On a hot day, those bruises feel soft under light finger pressure, and over time they accelerate granule loss, which shortens shingle life. High wind loosens the seal strip on shingles and can lift or tear them entirely. You may see tabs creased back or missing pieces that expose the black mat. Wind also tests every joint of exposed flashing around vents and skylights. If the storm was driven rain, water can get under flashings that are intact but poorly overlapped, showing up indoors hours later.
Snow and ice are subtler. An ice dam builds at the eaves when heat in the attic melts snow upslope and the eave refreezes the runoff. The water pools behind the dam and wicks up under shingles. You may not see missing materials in that case, only staining and swelling along exterior walls or near skylights. The roof can look pristine from the ground while the sheathing under the first two courses of shingles is soaked.
Metal and tile have their own tells. Hail dents steel panels and seams, which can be cosmetic or functional depending on the depth and location. On flat membrane roofs, wind can peel laps or puncture the surface with debris. Tile cracks are often hairline and hide well in shadows. If you hear grit under your shoes on a concrete walkway after a storm, look for granule piles in your downspouts; that is a simple indicator that your shingle surface took a beating even if you cannot see it from the lawn.
Contain water fast with the right temporary measures
Temporary repairs are about buying time without making a bigger mess. The common instinct is to throw up a blue tarp and call it done. I have seen tarps do more harm than good when they are nailed through good shingles along their edges. Nail holes in clean runs of roof create future leaks long after the tarp is gone.
If you must tarp, use a woven poly tarp with grommets, size it to extend at least three feet past the damaged area upslope, and weight it or secure it to mechanical fasteners that land in a ridge or valley where you intend a permanent repair anyway. On a simple gable, run the tarp over the ridge and secure it to 1x3 battens screwed into the roof deck through the ridge line so you do not pepper the field with holes. Where possible, turn the tarp edges under so wind cannot lift them like a sail. In gusty regions, sandbags or water tubes placed on the tarp can secure edges without more fasteners.
For a few missing shingles or a lifted flashing, butyl roof tape and a can of plastic roof cement can slow a leak. Clean the area with a rag, press the tape under the shingle edge, and finish the seam with a modest bead of cement dressed with a putty knife. It is not pretty and it is not a permanent fix, but it can hold for a week or two. Avoid smearing cement across entire tabs; that traps moisture and ruins the bond when a roofing contractor installs new shingle courses. On metal roofs, do not use asphalt cement on painted panels; it can attack the coating. Use a compatible butyl or polyurethane sealant sparingly at laps.
Indoors, a dehumidifier and fans aimed across the wet surface, not directly at it, help dry wallboard and trim. If water got under a hardwood floor, lift a section of baseboard to allow air exchange at the wall-floor joint. Mold does not need weeks to start; forty-eight hours in a warm, wet cavity is enough.
Decide when to call a pro
There is a difference between losing a couple of tabs in a tucked corner and watching daylight through a hole. If wind peeled back a section big enough to see the black underlayment, rain can find fresh pathways. If debris pierced the roof or you see curling or displaced flashing around chimneys and vents, a professional needs to see it. This is not only about tools and skills. A reputable roofing company understands code, manufacturer specifications, and insurance documentation. Those three are the difference between a quick patch that satisfies no one and a covered repair or roof replacement.
When time is tight, search terms like Roofing contractor near me help, but do not stop at the first ad. Call your insurance carrier first to open a claim and ask whether they require you to use a preferred Roofing contractor. You are usually free to choose your own, but some policies set expectations about scope and documentation. Then, call two or three local Roofers and ask specific questions: How quickly can you tarp or dry-in, do you have a repair crew separate from your installation team, and will you photograph damage before and after a temporary fix? The companies that do this work daily have an intake process for storms. They know that a five-photo set and a clear description of materials will settle arguments before they start.
I have worked both as a subcontractor and as the prime contact for homeowners after hailstorms. The crews that win trust show up with harnesses, not just ladders, and they do not lean a ladder on an aluminum gutter and crush it for speed. They mark damage on a simple sketch, they bag removed materials, and they leave a basic dry-in when they cannot finish. A good Roofing contractor will also warn you when more water is coming based on the forecast and should offer a second tarp edge or a better seal for a small additional fee. That is not upselling, it is protection.
Document for insurance without sabotaging your claim
Insurance adjusters want three things: proof of storm-related damage, a path to scope that damage, and a number they can defend. Your photos from the ground are a start. If a Roofing contractor gets on the roof, ask for their photo set and their notes. The best reports include close shots with a coin or tape for scale, context shots that place the damage on the plane of the roof, and details of age and condition. If your shingles were brittle or at the end of their life before the storm, expect pushback on a full Roof replacement claim. If they were mid-life and the hail bruised them across multiple slopes, a full replacement often makes more sense than a patchwork that will shed granules and leak in two years.
Keep receipts for every temporary measure, even the $19 tarp and the five tubes of sealant. Most policies reimburse reasonable emergency expenses. If your attic insulation got wet, note the depth and the area affected. If a ceiling needed a controlled puncture to drain, take a picture of the hole and the bucket. The small things build a narrative that ties interior damage to a roof breach, which supports not just the roof repair but the downstream drywall and paint.
Read the actual policy language on exclusions and deductibles. Wind-driven rain exclusions can surprise homeowners in coastal areas when water enters through walls and poorly sealed windows but not through a roof opening. If the policy requires a proof of loss within a set window, mark that date in your calendar and get your Roofing contractor’s estimate in time to meet it.
Repair, replace, or wait - making the right call
Once the roof is dry and the weather gives you a window, the question becomes scope. I have seen three houses on one block take three different paths after the same storm. The first had a few missing tabs on a three-year-old roof. The second had widespread hail bruising on a fifteen-year-old laminate shingle. The third had torn ridge caps and lifted flashing around a thirty-year-old chimney that had always been marginal.
A true repair makes sense when the shingles are young, the damage is isolated, and the underlayment and decking are sound. A skilled technician can weave in new shingles to match the pattern, re-seal flashings, and replace a ridge vent without changing the overall look. Done well, this kind of Roof repair gets another decade from a roof that deserved it anyway.
Patchwork on an older roof with widespread hail impact is a false economy. You can replace twenty shingles across four slopes and still have a roof that sheds granules every rain, clogs gutters, and turns brittle by next summer. In those cases, a full Roof replacement aligns with both physics and finance. Roof installation companies often show the math: material and labor for a patch add up quickly, and you still face a second mobilization later. If insurance recognizes “functional damage” to shingles that reduce service life, that is your lever for replacement.
Waiting is the option that seduces because it costs nothing today. If a tarp is holding and the calendar is busy, it is tempting to delay. Weather finds soft spots. Underlayment is not designed for months of UV exposure. A winter tarp beats wind for a week, then rips on a cold snap. If the contractor you want has a queue, ask for a proper synthetic dry-in under a tarp and a nailed ridge batten so the system survives the wait. That is where using an established Roofing company pays off; they have materials and crews that can stage work.
Choose the right partner for the work
The term Roofing contractor covers a lot of ground. After a large storm, out-of-town crews follow the weather. Some are excellent, some are not. The advantage of a local Roofing contractor near me is not just speed. It is accountability a year from now if a chimney pan whistles or a valley seam seeps.
When I hire or recommend, I look for real insurance and state licensing where it applies, a physical address that matches a business name, and at least one reference from a project older than five years. Ask about crew composition. Do they use the same foreman regularly, or do they broker the work each morning in a parking lot. Neither model is inherently bad, but consistency shows in the details. On shingle installs, I want to know what underlayment they use, whether they replace drip edge by default, how they handle starter strips and ice barrier, and whether they reflash or reuse. On metal, I ask about panel gauge and clip spacing. On flat roofs, I want to know whether seams are hot-air welded or solvent-wiped and what primer they use at transitions.
Materials matter. An inexpensive architectural shingle and a premium one look similar on day one. The difference shows in seal strip chemistry, granule adhesion, and reinforcement mat. If budget allows, pick a product with class 3 or 4 impact rating in hail zones. Premium does not mean overkill, it means fewer mid-life headaches. A thoughtful Roofing company will explain trade-offs without pushing the most expensive line.
Prevent the next leak while you repair this one
A storm exposes not only the roof surface but also the weaknesses in the system around it. When you have a crew and a dumpster in the driveway, tackle the details that never make it into glossy brochures. Ventilation is the big one. An under-vented attic cooks shingles from below and creates ice dams in winter. If you can see the outline of rafters as dark lines on your roof after a frost, warm spots are melting snow from the inside. Balanced intake and exhaust, often with continuous soffit vents and a ridge vent, stabilize attic temperatures and moisture.
Flashings tie the roof to the world around it. Reusing old step flashing at a sidewall to save an hour of labor is a false economy. Water loves tiny channels along paint and caulk lines. New step flashing interlaced with shingles, with a counterflashing that tucks under the siding where possible, gives you a clean path for runoff that does not depend on goop. Chimney saddles and cricket framing are frequently skipped on small stacks. If you see a soot stain down-roof from a chimney, that is your clue that water has been fighting wind there for years. Ask for a cricket even on modest widths; a little valley that divides flow around the stack can carry more water with less splashback.
Gutters are not technically part of the roof, but their alignment and capacity matter. A gutter pitched poorly by even a quarter inch over a long run turns into a pond, and that pond overflows into fascia and the roof edge. After a storm, gutters often flex or pull fasteners. Rehang or replace if they sag or hold water. Install larger downspouts if leaves are common on your lot, or protect the inlets with screens you can clean with a broom from a ladder rather than a glove from the roof.
When the roof is not the culprit
I have pulled apart more than one ceiling to find a plumbing vent line with a cracked elbow or a bath fan duct that discharges into the attic. Storms force air where it does not usually go. If wind pushed rain into your soffit vents, it can look like a roof leak a day later when that water seeps from insulation. A well-aimed garden hose on a dry day does not always replicate a storm. An experienced technician knows to check around skylight frames for condensation channels, to look under a satellite dish mount for old lag holes, and to test window flashing above the stain. If your “roof leak” reappears during gentle rains with no wind, widen the search. A thoughtful Roofing contractor will say so and call in a carpenter or a mason if the water path points to a wall or chimney cap.
Timing, weather, and patience
After a storm, every credible roofer in town gets busy. The best of them stage work to keep customers dry while they schedule full replacements. Expect that rhythm. A legitimate company prioritizes temporary dry-ins within twenty-four to forty-eight hours, then moves you to a slot for permanent work based on material availability and weather. If someone promises a full tear-off and install the next morning during a citywide event, ask hard questions. Crews cannot multiply at will, and inspectors get backed up. Adjustors also work in waves, and your claim timing affects cash flow. Some contractors offer to start without a settlement number if you sign an assignment of benefits or a direction to pay. Read those carefully. Control of the claim should stay clear unless you understand the trade-offs.
Weather windows matter in ways that do not show up on an app. A forecast that reads “20 percent chance of rain” may be fine for interior paint, but it is a hard no for an exposed deck on a low-slope section. A sudden shower on unprotected sheathing ruins ceilings. Reputable Roofers will sometimes halt mid-day rather than risk a soak. That looks like delay from the driveway, but it is judgment from the ridge.
Cost ranges that align with reality
Numbers vary by region, roof complexity, and material. After storms, labor premiums briefly rise because demand is intense. Expect emergency tarping from a Roofing company to cost a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars depending on height and area. A small weave-in repair for blown-off shingles might Atlantic Roofing & Exteriors Roof installation companies land in the low hundreds if access is easy, more if matching an older color requires ordering or if brittle shingles force a larger section. A full Roof replacement on a typical one-story ranch with a simple gable might start in the mid four figures for basic asphalt and run to five figures for premium shingles or complex hips and valleys. Metal, tile, and flat systems follow their own curves, often higher in material and more sensitive to detail.
Insurance deductibles for wind and hail are often one or two percent of dwelling coverage in hail-prone markets. That means your out-of-pocket could be several thousand dollars on a large claim. Factor that in early, and decide whether to pursue small repairs outside of insurance if the damage is minor and you want to avoid a claim on your record. Talk candidly with your agent, not just the 800 number, about how a claim might affect premiums or discounts.
A short, practical checklist for the first day
- Photograph damage from the ground, inside and out, before touching anything. Call your insurer to open a claim and ask about emergency measures they cover. Arrange safe temporary protection: buckets, plastic sheeting, controlled drain holes, and, if needed, a properly secured tarp. Contact a local, licensed Roofing contractor for rapid assessment and documentation. Save receipts and keep a simple log of dates, times, and who did what.
What a good repair looks like when it is done
When a Roofing contractor finishes an emergency repair or a full replacement, the signs of quality are not abstract. Shingle lines should be straight with consistent exposure, starter strip aligned, and nail patterns correct. Flashings should tuck cleanly under siding and counterflash at chimneys, with no gobs of sealant doing the heavy lifting. Ridge vents should sit flat, with end caps snug. Seal strips on shingles should be warmed by sun and bonded in a few days; in cold weather, contractors may hand-seal tabs in wind-prone areas. Valleys should be either properly woven or have a clean metal valley with visible hemmed edges. Gutters rehung after the job should drain without standing water. Attic spaces under repaired areas should be dry to the touch within a day or two, with insulation replaced where saturated.
A good Roofing company returns for a brief punch list if you note a rattle or a drip edge that looks off. They should provide a warranty in writing, both for the manufacturer’s material and for their workmanship, and they should explain how those overlap. Keep that packet with your home documents. When you sell, the next owner will ask.
The value of maintenance between storms
The quiet months matter as much as the dramatic hours after a storm. A fifteen-minute walk with binoculars twice a year, spring and fall, pays off. Look for shingles that are lifting, sealant that is shrinking around penetrations, and debris in valleys. Clean gutters before leaves cement themselves. Trim branches back from the roof edge; repeated scuffing removes granules and shortens life. In snow country, a roof rake after heavy storms pulls weight off eaves and reduces ice dam pressure. In hot climates, make sure attic vents are clear of insulation and nests. Builder-grade bath fans that dump into an attic can mimic storm leaks by feeding moisture into the roof deck. Vent them outside.
When maintenance reveals a small issue, hire a pro before the next storm makes it a big one. Even the best materials need honest attention. A $250 visit to reseal two vents and refasten a loose counterflashing is money that disappears in the cost of a larger repair later. Keep your Roofer’s number where you keep your plumber’s and electrician’s. Roofing is a system, not a sheet of shingles.
Final thought from the ridge
Storms test every decision a builder or homeowner has made about a roof. They find the lazy caulk joint and the bent drip edge, and they punish a poorly vented attic. They also reward good practice. I remember a long, late afternoon storm where houses on one side of the street lost shingles like playing cards, while the other side came through with scuffed granules and nothing more. The difference was not luck, it was underlayment, fastener pattern, and a contractor who refused to reuse tired flashing because “it looked fine.”
When the sky clears, take a breath, protect what you can safely, and bring in people who do this every week, not once a decade. Between your evidence, a sensible emergency plan, and a Roofing contractor who works with both tools and a camera, you can turn a frantic day into a controlled repair. And when you have a choice between patching an old problem or building it the right way, choose the path that will still be dry when the next storm writes its own schedule.