Wednesday afternoon, October 21, a fast-moving storm dropped golf ball to baseball-sized hail across parts of the Valley, with winds near 60 mph. North Phoenix took some of the worst of it, along with Glendale, Tempe and Mesa. Most of what people shared afterward was smashed windshields and broken windows. That makes sense, because that damage is easy to see. The damage on your roof usually isn’t, and that’s the part that can cost you later.
Why Hail This Size Matters for a Valley Roof
Small hail mostly bounces off a well-built roof. Hail the size of a golf ball or bigger is different. It hits hard enough to crack concrete tile, knock pieces off the edges, and break the mortar that holds hip and ridge caps in place. Add 60 mph wind behind it and the hail comes in at an angle, hitting slopes and edges that normally don’t take much of a beating.
The tricky part is that a roof can look fine from the street and still have damage. A cracked tile can sit flat in its row for months. A broken ridge cap can stay put until the next big wind. Meanwhile water starts reaching the underlayment underneath, and that’s where the real trouble starts.
What Hail Does to Each Type of Roof
Concrete and clay tile: Look for cracked or split tiles, chipped corners and noses, and loose or broken mortar on the hip and ridge caps. A tile that’s cracked but still in place won’t stop water the way it should, and the underlayment beneath it is what’s left to keep your home dry.
Shingles: Hail bruises shingles and knocks the protective granules loose. You may not see a hole, but a bruised spot loses its protection from the sun and wears out much faster in Arizona heat. Heavy granule buildup in your gutters or at the bottom of your downspouts after a storm is a good sign the roof took hits.
Foam and flat roofs: Hail can dent or puncture the coating on a foam roof. Even small breaks let UV and water reach the foam underneath, so those spots should be sealed before they spread.
What You Can Check From the Ground This Week
- Pieces of tile, chips or granules in the yard, on the driveway or in the gutters
- Dents in gutters, downspouts, AC units, vents or patio covers, which tell you hail of that size reached your roof
- Ridge or hip caps that look out of line or have gaps
- Any new stains on ceilings or around skylights after the storm
Please don’t climb onto a tile roof yourself to check. Tile breaks easily underfoot, and you can turn one cracked tile into ten. Take photos from the ground and let a roofer handle the rest.
A Word About Door Knockers
After any big hailstorm, out-of-town crews show up knocking on doors. Some are fine, and some are gone by the time a warranty issue comes up. Before you let anyone on your roof, make sure they’re licensed in Arizona with an active ROC number, ask for photos of anything they say is damaged, and don’t sign anything on the spot. A good roofer will give you time to think it over.
Thinking About an Insurance Claim?
Whether a claim makes sense depends on how much damage there is, your deductible, and how old the roof is. We walk through how documentation and the claims process work in our post on monsoon roof damage and insurance claims in Phoenix. The same steps apply to hail. The most important one is simple: get the damage documented with clear photos before you file.
Free Hail Inspections Across the Phoenix Valley
If your neighborhood got hit on October 21, let us take a look before the next storm rolls through. Inspections are free. We’ll get on the roof, photograph everything we find, and give you an honest answer about whether it’s a simple repair, whether it’s worth filing a claim, or whether your roof came through just fine.
BlackHorse Roofing & Construction is licensed (ROC #342877), bonded and insured in Arizona, and we work across the Valley, including Phoenix, Glendale, Tempe, Mesa and Scottsdale. Learn more about our roof repair services in Phoenix, call (602) 890-9512, contact us online, or send us a message on Facebook or Instagram.