If you have ever thought about why why a few chunks of ice falling out of the sky during a hail storm can tear the shingles on your roof to shreds, check out these hailstone facts. It’s evident why you need roof repair after a hail storm hits your house.

• A hail stone starts out as a small bit of ice formed from super-cooled droplets of water or tiny clumps of snow.
• The stones can start out as a bug, a seed or other particles that get blown up into a thundercloud with a cold interior temperature.
• During very strong winds pieces of fruit, worms and frogs have been swept high enough into the atmosphere to form the nucleus of the hail stone.
• As the stones bounce around in the atmosphere they build up layers of ice much like an onion and fall to the ground once they become heavy enough to defy the force of the wind.
• A hail stone the size of a tennis ball weighs about 2 lbs and requires a 400 mph updraft to keep it airborne.
• As it falls it’s like dropping a baseball from a plane flying at 30,000 ft., traveling at around 120 mph.
• Chunks of ice this size plunging from the sky cause severe lacerations and broken bones to people on the ground, leave significant dents in cars and trucks and destroy crops.
• In this type of storm the windows are smashed out of your house. Imagine what it will do to your shingles.

Although the southern and central regions of the country seem to be affected by the worst hailstorms, anywhere thunderstorm activity occurs, hailstones can form.  Hail causes about $1.6 billion of damage each year to home owners, making it the most costly natural disaster year after year. Even a small hailstone falling at 90 mph can pierce the shingles on a roof and damage the roof deck below.

The trajectory of the hailstone influences how much damage it does – if it hits at a 90 degree angle your shingles stand a much lower chance of survival. Steeper roof slopes improve the resistance to the impact. Newer ductile roof shingles have been designed to withstand the impact of hail stones. It also helps to have a very strong roof deck with minimal flexibility. If after a hailstorm has passed through your area and you notice things like dented patio furniture, probabilities are you will need to have your roof inspected for hail damage and roof repair may be necessary.

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