Pittsburgh gets four kinds of storms that damage roofs: hail, high wind, ice, and heavy wet snow. Most of what they leave behind doesn’t look dramatic from the driveway. That’s why so much of it goes unnoticed until a ceiling stain shows up six months later, long after your insurance carrier expected to hear from you.
Knowing how to tell if your roof has storm damage starts on the ground, not on a ladder. Here’s what to check, what counts as damage worth doing something about, and when it’s time to get a roofer out there.
The Five-Minute Ground Check (Do This First)
You don’t need to climb anywhere to get a useful first read. Walk the perimeter of the house and look for these:
- Shingles or pieces of shingles on the ground
- Granules in the gutters and at the downspout outlets (looks like coarse black sand)
- Dents in the gutters, downspouts, vents, or aluminum siding
- Hail dimples on the window screens or the top of the AC condenser unit
- Missing, curled, or lifted shingles visible on the roof slope
The AC unit and the window screens are the best ground-level tell for hail. Those surfaces are soft and they sit out in the open. If they got hit, your roof took the same hits.
If you see any of these, the roof needs a closer look. If you see none, you’re probably fine — but check again after the next big one.
Signs of Hail Damage
Hail damage is the one most people miss, because it usually doesn’t break anything you can see from below. Up close, you’re looking for:
- Dark circular spots where the impact knocked the protective granules off
- Soft bruises that feel like a pressed thumbprint
- Dented metal flashing around chimneys, vents, and skylights
- Cracked or split shingles, sometimes in a star pattern
- Loose granules collecting in the roof valleys and at gutter outlets
Granules aren’t decoration. They’re the shingle’s sunscreen. Knock enough of them off and the asphalt underneath starts cooking, which can take years off a roof that still looks fine from the street. That’s also the kind of damage a homeowner policy is built to cover, which is exactly why a documented inspection matters.
Signs of Wind Damage
Wind damage is easier to spot and easier to underestimate. The obvious sign is a missing shingle. The sneaky one is a shingle that got lifted hard enough to break its adhesive seal, then laid back down looking perfectly normal. It’s loose now. The next storm takes it.
What to look for:
- Missing shingles anywhere, including the ridge cap
- Shingles that look curled, bent at the corners, or sit slightly higher than their neighbors
- Exposed nails or strips of black underlayment showing through
- Torn or lifted flashing along the edges and around penetrations
- Debris driven into the roof — branches, lawn furniture, somebody’s fence
Here’s the part homeowners get wrong. Architectural shingles are rated for wind speeds well above what a summer thunderstorm usually brings. But that rating assumes the seal strip is still doing its job. On a roof past 10 or 15 years, those seals have been through a lot of freeze-thaw, and they let go at speeds the shingle was supposed to shrug off. Age is what turns a survivable gust into a repair.
Signs of Ice and Snow Damage
Ice is the biggest source of roof problems in Western PA, and it’s the one people watch for least.
What to watch for during and after winter:
- Ice dams forming along the gutter line at the edge of the roof
- Long icicles hanging off the gutters — a sign of melt-and-refreeze trapping water up top
- Gutters sagging or pulling away under the weight of the ice
- Water stains on interior ceilings, especially along exterior walls
- Damaged fascia, soffit, or trim where ice has worked underneath
- Frost on the nail tips and the underside of the decking in your attic
That last one isn’t a weather problem. It’s an attic ventilation problem, and it’s usually what feeds the ice dam in the first place. Warm air escapes into the attic, melts the snow on the upper roof, and the water refreezes when it hits the cold eave. Then it backs up under the shingles and into the decking.
The damage almost always shows up inside first. Usually as a slow brown ring on a bedroom ceiling.
What to Check Inside Your House and Attic
The attic and the upstairs ceilings give you the most honest report you’ll get on the condition of your roof. Check after any major storm, and once a season regardless:
- Water spots or rings on ceilings, anywhere in the house
- Daylight visible through the attic decking
- A musty or damp smell
- Wet, matted, or compressed insulation
- Dark staining on the underside of the roof decking
If anything up there looks or smells wet, you have an active leak. The only question is how big.
When to Get a Roofer Out There
Call for an inspection if any of these are true:
- You found any of the signs above after a known storm
- Your roof is 15 years or older and you’ve had a real weather event recently
- You’re seeing granules in the gutters without a storm you can point to
- You’re getting ready to sell and want to know the condition before a buyer’s inspector finds it
A real inspection isn’t somebody squinting at your roof from the driveway for 60 seconds. It’s ladder or roof access where it’s safe, drone footage of every slope, an attic check, and a documented report with photos. If an insurance claim is involved, that documentation is the whole ballgame.
About the Trucks That Show Up After a Hail Storm
The morning after real hail, there will be knocks on doors in your neighborhood. Out-of-state plates. A clipboard, a free look at your roof, and a contract they’d like you to sign at your kitchen table today.
Some of those crews do fine work. Plenty don’t. But the install isn’t really the issue. A workmanship warranty is only worth as much as the company standing behind it, and a company that followed hail into the Alle-Kiski Valley this spring will be following it somewhere else next spring. When a shingle lifts in 2034, that phone number goes nowhere.
Before you sign anything with anyone — us included — check two things.
First, registration. Pennsylvania’s Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act requires anyone doing more than $5,000 of home improvement work a year to register with the state. You can look up any contractor by name or number through the PA Attorney General’s contractor search. Ours is PA-034738. Look it up.
Second, permanence. Ask how long they’ve been at their address. The FTC’s guidance on home improvement scams puts “knocking on your door because they’re in the area” at the top of the warning list, right alongside pressure to decide today and requests for cash up front.
Whalen has been at 1360 4th Ave in Arnold since 1982. That’s the whole pitch.
A Word on Insurance Claims
This is where homeowners lose the most money, and usually not because of the contractor.
A few things worth knowing:
- Most homeowner policies in PA cover sudden storm damage — hail, wind, a falling limb — but not gradual wear or age. A worn-out roof is not a claim.
- Read how your policy pays. Plenty of PA carriers now schedule older roofs at actual cash value instead of replacement cost, or carry a separate wind-and-hail deductible. A 22-year-old roof can be legitimately damaged and still only get you a depreciated check.
- Your policy sets the clock, not the state. It requires prompt notice after the loss, and most PA policies also cap how long you have to take the carrier to court if you disagree — often one year. Your declarations page has the real numbers.
- Don’t file until you know there’s documentable damage. A denied claim can still land on your CLUE report and get factored into what you pay later.
- A photographed, written inspection report gives the adjuster something concrete to work from instead of a guess.
- The roofer who inspects doesn’t have to be the roofer who does the work. But whoever does it should have worked claims before and know what supplements to ask for.
If the damage is real, document it and report it inside your carrier’s window. The longer you wait, the harder it gets to prove the storm did it.
Small Damage Gets Expensive Fast
A lifted shingle in May lets water in by July. An ice dam in February becomes drywall work in April. Fixing a roof early always costs less than fixing a roof plus a ceiling plus insulation plus drywall.
If you had a storm and you’re not sure, get someone to look.
Free post-storm roof inspection
Whalen Exteriors has been on Western PA roofs since 1982 — Arnold, New Kensington, Lower Burrell, Oakmont, Murrysville, and the rest of the Greater Pittsburgh area. We’re an Owens Corning Platinum Preferred contractor with a 4.9-star average across 318 Google reviews, and we back full roof systems with a lifetime workmanship warranty.
You get a drone-assisted inspection, an attic check, and a documented report you can hand to an adjuster if there’s damage worth filing on. If there isn’t, we’ll tell you that too. No sign-today pricing.
Book a free inspection or call (724) 335-8515.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you tell if your roof has storm damage from the ground?
Sometimes, but not reliably. From the ground you can spot missing shingles, dented gutters, granules at the downspouts, and hail dimples on your AC unit or window screens. Hail bruising and broken seal strips — the two most expensive kinds of damage — are close-up findings. A ground check tells you whether to look further, not whether you’re clear.
What does hail damage on a roof look like?
Dark circular spots where the granules got knocked off, exposing the asphalt underneath. The spots are often soft to the touch, like a pressed thumbprint. You may also see cracked or star-patterned shingles and dents in the metal flashing around chimneys and vents. Hail damage rarely looks dramatic — that’s why it gets missed.
How long do I have to file a roof insurance claim in Pennsylvania?
Your policy sets the deadline, not the state. Most require prompt notice after the loss, and many PA policies separately limit how long you have to sue the carrier if you disagree with the outcome — often one year from the date of damage. Check your declarations page and call your agent. Don’t assume you have a year to think about it.
Will insurance cover my roof if it’s just old?
No. Homeowner policies cover sudden, accidental damage from a specific event — hail, wind, a tree limb. They don’t cover wear, age, or deferred maintenance. If your roof is worn out rather than storm-damaged, that’s a replacement you pay for, and it’s worth knowing which one you have before you file anything.
Should I get a roof inspection if I didn’t notice a storm?
Yes, if the roof is 15 years or older or you’re finding granules in the gutters. Western PA roofs take damage from freeze-thaw and ice dams over the winter without a single memorable storm. A seasonal check catches the slow stuff while it’s still a repair.
