Want to know why your roof is failing early?
Believe it or not, weather is killing roofs in the United States at an alarming rate. In 2024, roof repair costs totaled an eye-popping $30.8 billion. That’s a huge 30% increase from 2022.
Here’s the problem: Your roof gets assaulted every day by rain, hail, snow, wind, and brutal heat. And if you don’t understand how weather affects your roof, then you’re going to be faced with huge repair bills or even a full replacement sooner than you’d like.
Inside this post, you’ll learn:
- The real ways different weather patterns destroy your roof
- The alarming and growing cost of weather-related roof damage
- The best roofing materials for withstanding different weather conditions
- The steps you can take to keep your roof as safe as possible
The Hidden Ways Different Weather Patterns Damage Your Roof
Your roof has a lot of work to do. It’s there to protect you from the elements. But while your roof is great at standing strong against normal weather, when storms come, problems happen.
The issue is that every single weather condition is designed to slowly kill your roof. Here’s how each one causes damage…
Rain: The Sneaky Water Destructor
Rainwater isn’t always as innocent as it seems. In fact, heavy rainfall is one of the worst things for your roof’s longevity. The water seeps under shingles, into tiny cracks, and starts to rot your roof deck from the inside out.
Wind pushes water under shingles during heavy storms, overflowing gutters cause backup, and even little cracks can allow water to seep through. Once inside? You’ve lost the battle and will have thousands in repair costs.
Hail: The Visible But Vicious Destroyer
Hail damage is kind of a funny thing in that you can visibly see hail’s handiwork on your roofing materials. It’s pretty obvious hail has been there. But even small hail that you might think isn’t damaging your roof is still shortening its lifespan with every impact.
Hail damage is assessed by professional roofing services by looking for things like granule loss on asphalt shingles, cracks and dents in the roofing material, exposed backing, and damaged gutters.
What’s even scarier is that hail damage is the cause of $1.7 billion in roof repairs each year in the United States.
So, if you live in an area prone to hail and you need a quality professional roofing service, it’s smart to hire a roofing contractor from Lancaster who knows how to properly assess and repair hail damage. Repairing damage before it gets worse is smart.
Wind: The Invisible Enemy
Wind damage is kind of sneaky because you might not even know there is a problem at first glance.
Wind damage progresses over time in stages: The wind gets under loose shingles, lifts and tears them away from the roof, exposes the underlayment to the elements, then makes more shingles vulnerable, repeating the process until major damage occurs.
Once shingles are missing, rain and snow get direct access to your roof deck.
Snow and Ice: The Weighty Culprits
Snow is heavy. A cubic foot of wet snow weighs over 20 pounds. That’s a lot of pounds for your roof to take.
Snow causes damage by building up and causing ice dams, creating structural stress from the heavy weight of the snow, and through freeze-thaw cycles where water gets into cracks and expands. This expansion and contraction of water inside cracks is like a little monster chewing up and destroying your roofing materials.
The Cost of Weather-Related Roof Damage
It’s not just your roof’s lifespan that is being affected by weather damage.
Insurance companies are paying out record amounts for roof damage. Weather-related insurance claims now account for over 25% of all residential insurance payouts.
But here’s the part that is really startling…
Roofs in storm-prone areas are having drastically shorter lifespans. While roofs in more mild western states last an average of 22 years, roofs in hail-prone states only last an average of 15 years.
That’s a 7-year reduction in roof lifespan!
The Cost Nobody Talks About
And just when you thought things couldn’t get more expensive, you’re also looking at hidden costs that no one ever mentions when it comes to weather damage to roofs. Weather damage and hail damage lead to higher energy bills from damaged insulation, interior water damage from leaks, mold remediation, temporary housing while repairs occur, and increased insurance premiums. Those hidden costs can double the overall cost of weather damage.
The Roofing Materials With The Best Weather Resistance
If you’ve been following along so far, you’ve also figured out that not all roofing materials are created equal when it comes to withstanding damage from weather.
Here’s the truth about roofing materials and different types of weather…
Some materials laugh in the face of severe weather. Other materials crumble with the first sign of a storm.
Metal Roofing: The Weather Warrior
Metal roofing is becoming more and more popular because it’s awesome at handling just about any weather Mother Nature throws its way. In fact, demand for metal roofing increased 35% in regions with lots of severe storms in recent years.
Metal roofs can withstand winds up to 140 miles per hour, resist hail damage better than most other materials, shed snow and ice effectively, and reflect heat to reduce thermal stress. So, while it has a higher upfront cost, over the long term it pays for itself.
Asphalt Shingles: The Most Popular (But Not The Best)
Asphalt shingles are found on about 80% of roofs in the U.S. because they’re affordable and quick to install.
But they have their downsides: susceptible to hail damage, can get ripped off in high winds, granules wash away over time, and cracking and curling from thermal cycling. The secret is to look for impact-resistant varieties and take care of them.
Tile and Slate: The Heavy Dudes
Clay tiles and slate are super durable with excellent wind resistance when installed correctly, but can crack under large hail impacts, and require stronger roof structures because of the heavy weight.
The Steps You Can Take To Keep Your Roof Safe
Look, Mother Nature isn’t going to change the way she acts. But you can change the way you help your roof stand up to the elements.
Here’s what to do:
Step 1: Schedule Regular Roof Inspections
All the weather damage in the world starts out small and then progresses over time. That’s why regular inspections are so important to prevent small problems from becoming major disasters. Schedule twice per year professional inspections after major storms and when you notice missing shingles.
Step 2: Keep Your Gutters Clean
Clogged gutters equal water backup into your roof system. So, clean your gutters twice per year, more frequently if you have trees hanging over your roof.
Step 3: Tend To Small Problems ASAP
It’s not going to get better on its own. Loose shingles and small leaks will only get worse with the first big storm. The rule of thumb here is very simple: fix small issues as they are noticed or be stuck with much bigger problems later on.
Hardening It Off
Weather is the number one enemy of your roof, but that doesn’t mean it has to be your roof’s demise.
Knowing how different weather patterns can damage your roofing materials gives you the information needed to make smart decisions about how to maintain and repair your roof.
Remember: The cost of weather damage is increasing, some materials are better at handling weather than others, regular maintenance can prevent disasters, and professional inspections can help spot damage you may not catch.
Don’t wait for your roof to fail. Take action now and protect one of your home’s most important systems.
