Metal roofing in Burke, VA: what the storm rows, wind tables and hail tests say

The NOAA record, row by row

The National Centers for Environmental Information publish Storm Events detail files. For this page the 2016 through 2026 files were downloaded on October 18, 2026 and counted the next day: 792 rows for Fairfax County. A search for the label Burke returns 17 rows, 15 of them floods. Widen the search to the word Burke anywhere in a label or narrative and it returns 37 rows, 13 of them wind, none hail and none tornado. The Burke roofing guide covers permits and covenants; this page stays with weather and metal.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database. Every gust is a magnitude of type EG, which NOAA marks as estimated.

The labels are reference points, not neighborhoods. Six rows begin at Fairfax Station and four at Sideburn, so a reader of only the Burke label sees two wind rows and misses eleven. Twelve rows describe trees, limbs, wires or blocked roads; the last is the only one that describes roofs.

Knots, gusts and design speeds

Weather service gusts

Knots, estimated from damage. The Storm Prediction Center calls a storm severe at 58 mph, printed as 50 knots, and significant at 75 mph, or 65 knots. Twelve Burke rows sit between 50 and 56 knots. The 78-knot row works out to about 90 mph, the peak its survey narrative estimates.

County design table

An ultimate wind speed of 105 mph for Risk Category I, 115 mph for Category II and Residential, and 120 mph for Category III. It feeds the roof uplift table and is a design value, not a measured gust.

Uplift and the load chain

What the code names for metal

Virginia's 2021 Residential Code, chapter 9, treats metal in more than one place, and the wording differs by product. The text below is from UpCodes, a third-party copy.

A September 2025 Metal Construction Association paper quotes the International Building Code on metal panels. Panel systems over a solid or closely fitted deck are tested to FM 4474, UL 580 or UL 1897. Structural standing-seam systems are tested to ASTM E1592 or FM 4474, and structural through-fastened systems to ASTM E1592, FM 4474 or UL 580. Virginia adopts the model code with amendments, so which text governs a Burke house or business park is a question for Fairfax County. The paper adds that an evaluation report is not a code approval; the building official decides.

Hail, dents and the word cosmetic

Of the 40 hail rows in the county files, 23 are 1.00 inch, and the largest is 1.75 inches. The timeline lists the three largest and the rows labeled Fairfax Park.

1. May 2, 2016, Fairfax Park1.00 inch. The same label appears on the July 29, 2023 wind row that says trees fell near Burke and Springfield.
2. May 14, 2018, Sunset Hills1.75 inches, the first of three rows at that size.
3. Aug 13, 2018, Fairfax Park1.50 and 0.75 inches in two rows.
4. Jun 2, 2019, Great Falls1.75 inches.
5. Aug 13, 2021, Oakton1.75 inches, the last of the three. No row reaches 2 inches.

UL 2218 rates a steep-slope covering in four classes by dropping steel balls, and the IIBEC paper below lists the ball sizes as 1.25, 1.50, 1.75 and 2.00 inches. UL's scope adds that the test does not evaluate weathering or aging.

The International Institute of Building Enclosure Consultants reports that insurers now write exclusions or endorsements limiting coverage to functional hail damage. Its paper gives the working definitions: cosmetic damage changes appearance only, and functional damage reduces water-shedding or expected service life. The dispute centers on dents that have not split or punctured the metal or disengaged a seam.

Your policy's wording governs. The roofing insurance explainer sets out how to read a policy before a loss.

What to ask for in writing

1. The wind test report or evaluation report for the exact assembly named in the quote: profile, clip or fastener, spacing and deck, not a sister product.
2. The fastener or clip schedule for corner and edge zones, which the code table loads more heavily than the field.
3. Which section the county applies to your roof, and the design wind speed it uses. Fairfax County lists 115 mph for Residential.
4. Whether the product is a metal shingle with a labeled class or a panel covered by the manufacturer's instructions.
5. The UL 2218 class on the data sheet, if any, remembering UL's own caveat about hailstones.
6. The cosmetic damage language in your own policy, before you sign a contract.
7. Your Conservancy and county steps, which the Burke guide lays out.

Roofers of Arlington installs, repairs and replaces roofs, including flat and metal systems; the services page lists what is covered, and roof replacement explains a replacement scope. For the general metal topics see metal roofing and roofing materials. Book a phone consultation to talk through a Burke metal roof: we would ask your address, whether the home is detached, a townhouse or a condominium, what is visible from the ground and which of the documents above you hold. See service areas.