Flower Mound storm and hail history

A storm report is a point on a map where hail or wind was measured or observed. Read next to a roof, each part of the record means something a little different.

Hail size

The National Weather Service counts hail of one inch or larger as severe. Bigger stones hit harder, but the age and type of shingle, the wind behind the hail and the pitch of the roof all change what a stone does. Large hail reported nearby is a reason to have the roof looked at. It isn’t a finding about the roof.

Wind speed

Wind is recorded in knots, and the entry says whether it was measured or estimated. Fifty knots, about 58 mph, is the severe thunderstorm threshold. Wind like that can break the seal under shingle tabs and crease or tear them, starting at ridges, edges and corners.

Location

The place name and offset are where the report was taken, not where the storm stopped. Hail falls in streaks, so a report two miles away can mean a lot for your street or nothing.

Date

Keep it. If a roofer finds impact damage, your insurer will ask when it happened, and a dated official report near the property is a useful reference.

Reports can’t show the path of a storm across individual roofs, and year-to-year counts partly reflect how many people were reporting. For a current concern, a storm-damage inspection looks at the roof itself. Your insurer decides coverage under the policy.