The 6 Most Common Weather Events and the Damage They Cause to Your Residential Roof

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The 6 Most Common Weather Events and the Damage They Cause to Your Residential Roof

When was the last time you had a professional inspection of your roof for damage? As the season changes, it’s a good idea to break out that ladder in your garage and climb aboard your roof to look for damage. If you see any obvious signs of weather damage such as cracked or missing shingles, or holes, you will want to immediately schedule a professional inspection of your residential roof.

Just what are the weather events that can cause damage to your roof? They’re simpler and more common than you might think. No, it doesn’t take extreme weather events like a hurricane or blizzard. A heavy rainstorm or the summer heat is enough to cause small damage that has far reaching effects. Virginia has a four season climate and snow can weigh down your roof if left hanging around. It doesn’t require a blizzard to leave your roof sagging, sad, and injured.

Let’s discuss the 6 most common weather events and the damage they can cause to your residential roof.

The Effect of Rain on Roof Damage

Rain is the most common weather event and one of the biggest guilty culprits of impacting your roof. While water falling from the sky won’t rip holes through your roof, it will do the dirty work that more impactful weather events like hail and heat have laid the foundation for. The smallest crack in your roofing material can let water in, drop by drop. These drops eventually build up and cause little spots of water damage throughout your roof. Enough little water damage leads to bigger water damage, and that can be a very unpleasant experience inside your home. 

Inspect your roof after every hard rainfall for cracks. Catching a problem early can prevent further damage down the road. It’s also a good idea to check your gutters after heavy rainfall to make sure they are clear and doing their job, which is to make sure rainwater doesn’t build up on your roof. Hard rains that are accompanied by wind can cause tree limbs, sticks, and leaves to fall on your roof and into your gutters. This debris can clog your gutters and prevent water from rolling off your roof.

Heat Causing Damage to Roofs

Did you know that heat is a common cause of residential roof damage? A spike in temperature – especially a long run of temperature spikes – can cause your roofing material to expand, crack, and become brittle. These expansions open the door for rainwater to course through your roofing material, causing bigger intrusions, swelling, and water damage. 

If heat-inflicted roof damage isn’t caught during the hotter months, the expansion can shrink and solidify in the colder months. This can cause the gaps and intrusions that were caused by the heat and rain to become open game for ice and snow damage.

Roof Issues caused by Humidity

Humidity is the heat’s co-conspirator in residential roof damage. The heat causes your roofing material to crack, and the humidity causes moisture damage within these cracks. Moisture damage will negatively affect the entirety of your roof structure over time. It can also cause leaks and water damage, and that’s before you factor in heavy rainfall. 
Case in point – inspect your roof regularly during the hotter months. While it’s no fun to get all hot and sweaty on your roof in the summer heat, doing so can help you spot damage. Acting on any damage you see by calling a professional roofing company like Loyalty Exteriors can minimize both future damage and the cost of repair.

Wind Damage to Your Roof

Wind is yet another ulta-common weather event that is a leading cause of residential roof damage. It doesn’t have to be gail force or hurricane strength wind to case significant damage. Even just a few shingles that are lifted from your roof can leave your roof exposed to future weather damage. What’s even worse is the potential for serious damage to your roof via fallen limbs.

You guessed it – after every windstorm, break out your trusty ladder and expect your roof for missing shingles or larger problems such as holes or abrasions from tree limbs. See something concerning? Schedule a professional roofing inspection for a detailed assessment of damage and necessary repairs. Doing so now will give you peace of mind and will be easier on your wallet compared to the hefty cost of fixing serious future damage (like replacing your entire roof).

Hail? A Top Contributor to Roof Issues

If rain can cause damage to your residential roof, can you imagine the damage that hail can inflict? A hail storm hurling any sized hail can significantly impact your shingles. Large sized hail can pound holes right through your shingles. These damaged areas leave your roof exposed to other weather events like wind, rain, heat, and humidity. Even if the hail doesn’t tear off or rip holes through your shingles, it can leave them vulnerable to moisture damage from rain and humidity, and they can be ripped off with a decent amount of wind.

Snow and Roofing Havoc

Lastly, let’s talk about snow. The Northern Virginia area is considered to be “southern” by more northern states, but residents here know better. We know that we’re only a few miles from the coast, and just down wind from Maryland and Delaware. The DMV area routinely gets more snow than other parts of Virginia. This snow can be a real problem for your roof. 

For starters, snow adds extra weight to your roof which can cause structural damage. It can also get into your gutters which are not as strong as your roof itself. Your gutters can collapse easily when weighed down too much. Snow also causes ice dams. These are ridges of ice that form on the edge of your roof. While you may see the pointed ends of these ice dams as pretty icicles, make no mistake, their base can cause serious damage to your roof. As the ice dam melts, the water seeps under your shingles and refreezes. This causes holes and cracks in your shingles and can cause water damage on your roof and in your home.

Need Some Professional Eyes?

Did you find some damage to your roof when you broke out that trusty ladder? Need some professional roofing eyes to future inspect and repair the damage? Contact Loyalty Exteriors today or call us at (703) 963-0226, and let us know how we can serve you and your roofing needs.