How to Tell If Your Roof Has Hail Damage

The first signs are on the ground: fresh dents in gutters, downspouts, window screens or the fins of the outdoor AC unit, shingle granules washed out of the downspouts, and pieces of shingle in the yard. They tell you hail hit the property hard enough to check the roof, but the roof itself has to be seen up close, because the marks that matter are often smaller than a coin.

From the ground, look for:

• Fresh dents or spatter marks on gutters, downspouts, metal vents, fences, decks and utility boxes
• Torn or dimpled window screens and flattened fins on the AC condenser
• Granules (the coarse grit on top of shingles) piled in gutters or at downspout outlets
• Missing, cracked or lifted shingles, and shingle pieces on the lawn
• New water stains on ceilings, or damp insulation in the attic

None of these proves the roof needs work, and a clean yard does not prove it is fine. On the roof, an inspector looks for hits spread at random across the slopes that faced the storm and checks whether the shingle mat under each mark is broken. Rocket Roofing General Contractor does this with a free drone inspection in Omaha and the surrounding cities, and you get the photos and a damage report you can give your insurer if you file a claim.

On asphalt shingles, hail leaves round marks where the stone knocked the granules away and exposed the darker asphalt, and the harder hits bruise or crack the fiberglass mat inside the shingle. A bruised spot often feels soft or spongy under light pressure even when the surface looks intact.

What an inspector documents on shingles:

• Granule loss in a circle: a round patch of bare asphalt, often with granules crushed into the mark
• Bruises and soft spots: the mat under the mark is fractured, so the spot gives when pressed
• Cracks and splits: a fracture through the shingle, sometimes seen best from its underside
• Exposed fiberglass: on the hardest hits the asphalt is gone and the glass mat shows through

Inspectors separate functional damage, which lets water in or shortens the roof's life, from cosmetic marks that only change how the roof looks. Insurers treat the two differently, and the Nebraska roof insurance claims guide explains how that affects a claim.

Granule loss matters even without a crack. The granules shield the asphalt from sunlight, and research by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) found that when hail knocks them off, the exposed asphalt weathers and ages faster. A roof with scattered bare spots after a storm may look fine for a season while it wears out underneath.

Hail 1 inch across (quarter size) or larger is what the National Weather Service classes as severe, and it can bruise and crack asphalt shingles. Smaller hail can still harm a roof that is old or already worn, and repeated small hail wears shingles out faster.

The NWS raised its severe hail threshold from 3/4 inch (penny size) to 1 inch nationwide on January 5, 2010. A severe thunderstorm warning in Omaha today means hail of 1 inch or larger, wind gusts of 58 mph or more, or both.

Size is only part of it. How much damage a stone does also depends on:

• How hard it is and how fast the wind drove it
• The age and condition of the shingles it hits
• Which way each slope faces relative to the storm
• The surface: soft metal and window screens can show hail that left the roof unmarked

In 2025, IBHS published research on hailstones between 0.7 and 1 inch, just under the NWS severe line. Shingles hit repeatedly by that small hail while weathering outdoors became about ten times more susceptible to damage from a later severe hailstorm. For a Nebraska roof that has sat through several small-hail seasons, the next big storm is more likely to do real damage, so an inspection is worth it even when no single storm looked serious.

Yes. Most hail damage does not leak right away. A bruised or bare shingle keeps shedding water at first, and the fractured mat and exposed asphalt break down over the following months and seasons, so the leak often shows up long after the storm that caused it.

That delay causes two problems:

• Hidden water: once a damaged shingle lets water through, it can soak the decking and attic insulation before a stain ever shows on a ceiling
• Claim timing: an insurance claim is tied to the date of the storm, and each policy sets its own deadline for reporting a loss, so a leak that appears a year later may fall outside it

The practical rule: after any storm that dented gutters, screens or the AC unit around the property, have the roof inspected even if every ceiling is dry. An inspection from Rocket Roofing General Contractor costs nothing whether it finds damage or not, and if it does find bruising, you have dated photos from soon after the storm. The Nebraska roof insurance claims guide covers claim deadlines and where to find yours in your policy.

Yes, and those surfaces are often the clearest evidence that hail hit a property. Soft metal and thin materials dent before shingles do, so inspectors and insurance adjusters use them to judge how big the hail was, which way it came from, and whether the marks are recent.

• Metal roofs: hail usually leaves dents. A dent alone is generally treated as cosmetic; metal is functionally damaged when it is fractured, a seam or fastener is knocked loose, or the protective finish is broken through.
• Siding: vinyl can crack, split or be punched through; fiber cement can chip or crack; aluminum siding dents.
• Gutters and downspouts: thin aluminum dents easily, and dents concentrated on one side of the building point to the storm's direction.
• Window screens: the mesh tears or dimples and the frames bend.
• AC condensers: the thin aluminum fins flatten where hail struck them.

Haag Engineering's hail assessment protocol compares surfaces like these (gutters, downspouts, fences, decks, utility boxes and condenser fins) to establish the size, hardness and direction of the hail and whether it fell recently. That is why a free inspection from Rocket Roofing General Contractor looks at the whole exterior, not only the shingles, and why damaged siding or gutters may belong on the same claim as the roof. Some policies exclude cosmetic damage, so read yours, and see the insurance claims guide.

Hail damage is sudden and random: marks scattered across a slope with no pattern, heavier on the sides that faced the storm, and matched by fresh dents on soft metal nearby. Normal wear and blistering build up over years and follow the shingles' age and exposure, not a storm's path.

How inspectors tell them apart:

• Hail: round marks of varied size spread at random, granules often pressed into the mark, and a soft, fractured mat underneath
• Wear: granules thin out over large areas, shingles curl, cup or crack, and the whole roof ages together
• Blisters: gas escaping from the asphalt pushes up small bubbles that pop and leave pits of bare asphalt with no granules in them; they come from the shingle itself, not a storm
• Scuffs: marks from foot traffic, dropped tools or branches rubbing the roof, which follow walkways and limbs

The difference decides who pays. Most homeowners insurance policies cover sudden damage from hail and wind, while general wear and tear usually is not covered, so an accurate report keeps old wear and new storm damage apart. A drone inspection from Rocket Roofing General Contractor gives close photos of every slope, so the marks on each side can be compared with the direction the storm came from.

Wind damage looks like shingles that are creased, folded back, torn or missing, often starting at the roof's edges and ridges. A shingle that was sealed down and then caught by the wind leaves lasting evidence: a crease line, a torn edge, or a gap where it used to be.

Signs to look for:

• A straight, dark line across a shingle where it bent up and back (a crease)
• Missing shingles or tabs, with bare underlayment or a patch that looks newer than the rest
• Shingles in the yard or in the gutters after the storm
• Lifted edges and exposed nail heads near ridges and roof edges
• Punctures and scrapes from limbs or debris the wind threw onto the roof

A loose shingle is not wind damage by itself. The International Institute of Building Enclosure Consultants (IIBEC) notes that a shingle that is simply not stuck down, with no crease, fold, tear or missing piece, is not evidence of wind damage, although an unsealed shingle can be lifted and creased by lighter winds than a sealed one. That is why an inspector looks for the crease, not only a loose tab.

Wind and hail often arrive in the same storm, which is why a severe thunderstorm warning covers both. If shingles are missing and rain is coming, cover the opening: Rocket Roofing General Contractor provides 24/7 emergency tarping in the Omaha area at (402) 291-8888, and then the hail and wind damage roof repair itself.

No. Stay off the roof. A storm-damaged roof can have loose shingles, slippery loose granules and hidden soft spots, and walking on hail-bruised shingles can scuff them and add marks that confuse the damage record. Check from the ground and from windows, and leave the roof to a professional with a drone or proper fall protection.

How a drone inspection works at Rocket Roofing General Contractor:

• The inspector flies the drone over the roof from the ground, so nobody climbs onto a damaged surface
• The drone captures close, high-resolution photos and video of the roof
• The inspector also checks the gutters, siding and the rest of the exterior
• You see the same images the inspector sees, and they go into the damage report you can share with your insurer

A drone does not replace every step. There are still times when an inspector needs to go onto the roof, but most of the evidence can be gathered without that risk, and without adding wear to a roof that may already be compromised. Drone inspections are part of the free inspection, at no additional cost. For more on why, read why we inspect roofs with drones.

Photograph the damage from the ground, cover any active leak with a temporary tarp, call your insurance company or agent, and book an inspection within days of the storm. Do not make permanent repairs before your insurer has inspected: the Nebraska Department of Insurance warns that a claim might be denied if you do.

In the first 24 hours:

• Stay safe: keep clear of downed power lines, hanging limbs and the roof itself
• Take photos and video: the roof from the ground, dented gutters and screens, broken windows and interior stains, with the date noted
• Tarp only if it is leaking: a temporary cover over an opening prevents more damage; keep the receipts
• Call your insurer or agent: report the storm date and ask about your deductible and your policy's deadlines
• Schedule an inspection: a free one from Rocket Roofing General Contractor, by phone or online

Why days and not months: hidden damage gets worse with every rain, dents on soft metal are easiest to tie to one storm while they are fresh, and your policy sets a deadline for reporting the loss. Storm seasons also bring door-to-door crews from out of town; before you sign with anyone, read how to check a roofer in Nebraska. The claim itself, from the adjuster visit to deductibles and your rights under Nebraska law, is covered in the Nebraska roof insurance claims guide.