Wind and hailon El Paso roofs
Wind damage looks like lifted, creased, torn, or missing roofing at the edges and ridges, and hail damage looks like random impact marks once stones reach about an inch. Our storm damage repair work starts with finding out which one your roof has.
Wind damagestarts at the edges
Wind lifts roofing first at the windward corners, rakes, eaves, and ridges, because uplift pressure is highest there.1 On asphalt shingles, look for these signs:
- Shingles lifted off the roof or flipped back.
- Creases across the top of a tab where it folded.
- Tabs torn after repeated flipping.
- Shingles missing along eaves, ridges, and the tops of valleys.
Haag's engineers say wind damage is usually obvious, with these signs bunched on the windward side of the roof.1 Once the sealant bond breaks, a three-tab shingle folds back and creases along the top of the tab.1
Check this first. Look at the edges and ridge on the side that faces the wind. Marks scattered across the whole slope point to hail.
Hail damagelooks random
Hail falls at random over a roof, so its marks scatter across the slope instead of bunching at the edges.2
On shingles
A hail hit leaves a bruise: a dent with a fractured mat underneath that feels soft, like the bruise on an apple, and often knocks granules loose.4 Punctures and torn edges count too.4
Granule loss alone is normal weathering, not hail damage.2 Our storm damage page shows how to tell hail from sun and age.
Around the house
Dents in the aluminum fins of an A/C unit are a good gauge of stone size, since the dent is typically about 80 percent as wide as the stone.2 Spatter marks, where an impact cleaned grime or algae off, typically linger about a year.2
Short version. Shingle fractures start on the underside, and some can be felt only up close as a soft spot. Many can't be seen from the ground.2
How big hailhas to be
Haag's engineers list the smallest stone that might cause functional damage for each roof type. Functional damage means the roof sheds water worse or won't last as long.3
| Roof type | Smallest stone |
|---|---|
| Lightweight (3-tab) asphalt shingles | 1 inch |
| Heavyweight (laminated) asphalt shingles | 1 1/4 inches |
| Clay tile | 1 1/2 inches |
| Concrete tile | 1 3/4 inches |
| Smooth built-up roofing | 2 inches |
| Smooth EPDM | 2 inches |
| Galvanized steel panels | 2 1/2 inches |
Rules of thumb from Haag, May 2018, not guarantees. They assume hard hail hitting square on a roof in good or mid-life condition.2 3
Age lowers the number. Older, weathered roofing can turn brittle, and a 2-inch stone carries more than twenty times the impact energy of a 1-inch stone.11
Tile, metal, foam,and flat roofs
Tile
Hail fractures tile in cracks that radiate from one impact point, and the corners and edges break first.2 A straight line of cracks usually comes from foot traffic.2 Our tile roof repair crew replaces broken tiles.
Metal
Metal roofs can still dent or scratch from hail, wind-blown debris, and falling branches. Dents might not affect performance but can hurt curb appeal.7 How a roof holds up varies with the metal, the panel thickness, and the coating.7 Dents also stay on the panels as a record of every hailstorm.2
Spray foam
Hail can damage both the coating and the foam. Coating damage shows as gouges, cracks, and punctures, and hail cracks often form crow's-foot or semicircle patterns.8 The foam itself can dent 1/8 to 3/4 inch deep.8 Hail damage on foam sometimes goes unfound for months or years.8
Flat roofs
Single-ply membranes can be damaged by hail of 1.5 inches or larger.11 Smooth built-up roofing and EPDM start at 2 inches, as the table shows.
What El Pasorecords show
Wind is the bigger storm cause on record here. The Texas Department of Insurance shows wind losses at 56.2% of El Paso County homeowners losses paid from 2019 to 2025, against 28.9% for water.5
TDI's file labels the peril "wind" and doesn't say whether hail is counted inside it. Paid dollars also aren't claim counts, and some wind claims aren't roofs.5
Hail
NOAA's Storm Events database lists 38 hail reports in El Paso County from 2016 to October 2026, on 16 days. The largest stone was 2 inches, and 3 of those days reached 1.75 inches or more.6 Each row is a report entered by National Weather Service staff, so it counts reports, not every storm or every damaged roof.6
Wind
The National Weather Service's all-time peak gust at El Paso International Airport is 84 mph.10 In Storm Events, high-wind reports cluster from January to April, and thunderstorm wind reports cluster in June and July.6 The windy season usually peaks in March and April.9
After you find it,or suspect it
Lifetime Roofing of El Paso is a roofing company in El Paso, family owned and here since 2019. Our own crew does the work, not subcontractors, and the written estimate comes within 48 hours of the inspection.
Loose or missing shingles are a job for asphalt shingle roof repair. Dented or scratched panels are covered under metal roof repair.
Questions people askabout wind and hail
Is it wind or hail, and does it matter?
It matters. Wind damage bunches at edges and ridges on the windward side, while hail scatters across the slope. Lifetime Roofing of El Paso checks both patterns at the free inspection.
Can I see hail damage from the ground?
Often not. Shingle fractures start on the underside, and some can be felt only up close as a soft spot. Lifetime Roofing of El Paso inspects on the roof, and the inspection is free.
Is a dented metal roof ruined?
Not necessarily. The Texas Department of Insurance says dents and scratches might not affect a metal roof's performance, though they can hurt curb appeal. Lifetime Roofing of El Paso checks the panels in person.
How big does hail have to be to damage a roof?
About an inch. Haag lists 1 inch for lightweight asphalt shingles, 1 1/4 inches for laminated ones, and 2 1/2 inches for galvanized steel panels. Lifetime Roofing of El Paso checks the roof itself.
Will hail damage show up later?
Sometimes. The Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance says hail damage on a foam roof can go unfound for months or years. Lifetime Roofing of El Paso inspects foam roofs for free.
Where these factscome from
- Haag Engineering, Wind Effects on Asphalt Shingles, American Meteorological Society, read November 1, 2026.
- Scott Morrison, P.E., Learn how to identify hail damage on roof systems, Professional Roofing (NRCA), May 2009, read November 1, 2026.
- Haag, Hail damage thresholds blog post, May 2018, read November 1, 2026.
- Haag, Hail Damage to Asphalt Shingles, read November 1, 2026.
- Texas Department of Insurance, Homeowners losses by county, updated June 22, 2026, read November 1, 2026.
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, El Paso County, 2016 to October 2026, read November 1, 2026.
- Texas Department of Insurance, Metal roofs and home insurance: 4 key facts for homeowners, August 10, 2026, read November 1, 2026.
- Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance, SPFA-139, Hail and wind damage to SPF roofs, 2015, read November 1, 2026.
- El Paso Matters, El Paso dust events and windy season begin 2026, February 18, 2026, read November 1, 2026.
- National Weather Service El Paso, El Paso extreme weather records, read November 1, 2026.
- SGH, Topic Brief: Hail Damage, June 1, 2026, read November 1, 2026.
More fromthe guides
- Does Insurance Cover a Roof in Texas?
Whether Texas homeowners insurance pays for a roof, and what TDI says about it.
- Class 4 Shingles Worth It in El Paso?
Whether Class 4 impact-resistant shingles pay off in El Paso, and what Texas insurers do.
- Repair or Replace a Roof? How to Decide
How to tell a repair from a replacement, and what El Paso's 25% permit line means.
Call Lifetime Roofing of El Paso
(915) 353-3934
Get a free roof inspection
Based at 8900 Gateway Blvd E, El Paso, TX 79907