Storm damage roof repair: what to do first, next and last

The order of actions after a storm

Nothing here replaces your insurer's instructions or a building official's. It is the sequence the sources describe, with the page that says each step.

• Minutes after: people, lines and gas. Ready.gov's thunderstorm page says to watch for fallen power lines and trees and to report them immediately. Its recovery page says not to enter a damaged home if you smell gas or if authorities have not declared it safe.
• The same hour: walk the outside. Ready.gov suggests walking carefully around the outside to check for loose power lines, gas leaks and structural damage. With any doubt, it says to have a qualified building inspector or structural engineer look before you go in.
• Before any cleanup: photographs and a list. Ready.gov tells owners to take photos and make a list of damages before they clean up, and to keep every receipt for repair and cleanup.
• Before night: your insurer. Ready.gov puts the call to your insurance agent first. The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) says the same, and adds that the agent explains coverage and next steps.
• Within 24 to 48 hours: dry what got wet. The EPA says water-damaged areas and items should be dried within that window to prevent mold growth.
• Then: a temporary cover. IBHS lists tarping exposed areas as a temporary repair that limits further water damage. Section "A temporary cover and the permit clock" below covers who should do it.
• Last: written estimates and a contract. IBHS says to get multiple estimates and to resist high-pressure sales. The Virginia rules in "Door knockers and the three-day rule" apply to anyone who solicits you at home.

The documentation checklist

Photographs taken before cleanup are the one item every source repeats. The rest of this list comes from the same pages and from common sense about what a claim file needs.

• Wide photographs of every side of the building, taken from the ground, showing the roof line and anything lying in the yard.
• Close photographs of each visible problem, with something in the frame to show size.
• Photographs of dents or spatter marks on air conditioners, gutters, flashing, downspouts and patio furniture. IBHS calls these collateral evidence that hail fell.
• Interior photographs of stains, drips, wet insulation and damp ceilings, with the date.
• A written list of damaged items and rooms, as Ready.gov advises.
• Every receipt for cleanup, drying equipment and temporary repairs.
• The storm date, plus the weather service's own record of the event. NOAA's Storm Events Database lists reported wind, hail and flood events by county.
• The name, date and notes of every call with your insurer or a contractor.

Photographs and receipts: Ready.gov, Recovering from Disaster. Hail evidence: IBHS, Is It Hail Damage?

What the storm record says about Arlington

NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information publishes every storm event that the National Weather Service reports, by county. We downloaded the 2016 to 2026 files on October 26, 2026 and counted the rows for Arlington County, Virginia.

Of the 68 wind rows, 65 list a wind speed of 50 knots or more, and the highest is 70 knots. The five hail rows all fall in April 2024, with stones reported at 1 inch to 1.25 inches. The National Weather Service defines a severe thunderstorm as one with hail an inch or larger or gusts over 58 mph, and says hail that size can damage roofs.

A row is a report, not a measurement at your address. The database cannot tell you whether your own roof was hit, but it gives a date and a source to put next to your photographs.

Reading the damage by cause

Sources: weather.gov Severe Thunderstorm Safety; IBHS Is It Hail Damage?; Ready.gov; EPA Mold Cleanup in Your Home.

IBHS adds that ridge caps are especially vulnerable on an asphalt shingle roof, and one of its studies tested water permeability of hail-damaged shingles and found that the tear rating matters for leakage. Flat and low-slope roofs are different assemblies, so read our flat roof guide before applying shingle advice to one.

A temporary cover and the permit clock

Whether a larger repair on your building needs a county permit depends on its type, height and historic status. Our Arlington roofing guide has the county's permit table, and the condo and co-op guide explains who decides in a shared building.

Door knockers and the three-day rule

IBHS tells owners to beware unsolicited offers to inspect or repair a roof. Virginia law adds three protections that apply to a contractor who comes to your home.

1. A sale solicited at your residence without a prior invitation or appointment is a home solicitation sale. A sale made entirely by phone or online at your own initiative, with no other contact first, is not.
2. You can cancel until midnight of the third business day after you sign, by any written notice. The seller must give you a statement headed "Buyer's Right to Cancel" and a copy of the contract. Other waivers are void. The exception is a dated writing you personally sign that asks for work without delay because of an emergency, after which the seller begins substantial work in good faith.
3. If the Governor or the President has declared a state of emergency, charging an unconscionable price for building materials, cleanup or tree removal is unlawful while the declaration is in effect or for 30 days after the disaster, whichever is longer.

This is a summary of statutes, not legal advice. Ask an attorney or the Virginia attorney general's consumer office about your facts.

Questions to put to any roofer in writing

• What is your Virginia contractor license number, class and specialty? The building code requires a permit applicant to show a license or state that they are not subject to licensure, and you can check one on the DPOR license lookup.
• Who pulls the permit, if one is needed, and when is the application filed?
• What exactly is the scope: the damaged area, the decking you will inspect, flashing, vents and ridge caps?
• How will the temporary cover be held down, and what happens to it at the start of the permanent work?
• What documents will you give me for my insurer: photographs, a written estimate, a description of damage?
• Do I have a written notice of my right to cancel if you solicited me at home?
• What happens if you find hidden damage once the covering is off?

The EPA adds that a contractor hired for mold cleanup should have experience with it and be able to give references. Our questions to ask local roofers and roofing insurance pages go further.

Which guide matches your building

Roofers of Arlington installs, repairs and replaces roofs, flat and metal systems included, in Arlington and nearby, and can talk through an after-storm situation by phone first. Match your building to a guide.

• Arlington roofing hub: permits, historic review and ZIP code housing.
• Roof repair and roof replacement: how a written scope is built.
• Roof insurance claims guide: the claim side of the same timeline.
• Hail roof damage: the hail evidence in more detail.
• Columbia Pike garden apartments and Clarendon and Lyon Park flat roofs.
• Slate roofs and 1940s subdivision roofs.