What size hail damages a shingle roof?

Stones around an inch and larger are the ones most likely to bruise a standard laminated shingle, but wind, the age of the roof and the angle of impact all change the answer. Smaller hail can still strip granules from an old roof.

Would an impact-resistant shingle have helped?

Shingles rated Class 4 under UL 2218 are built to take a harder hit, and Texas Property Code section 202.011 limits an HOA's ability to prohibit wind- and hail-resistant shingles that resemble the approved ones. They resist damage; they do not make a roof hail-proof.

How do I know whether hail hit my street?

Look at soft metal first: dented gutters, downspouts, vent caps and mailbox tops. Then check NOAA's Storm Events Database for the date. If the metal is marked, the roof deserves a look.

Roofing · Hail

Hail Damage Assessment for Cypress Roofs

Hail marks on a shingle are small and dark, and most are invisible from the ground. What matters is whether the stone broke the mat underneath, because that is what turns into a leak years later.

Recent Hail Near Cypress, Stated Carefully

Northwest Harris County gets hail in most springs and some winters, but the size varies street to street, and reports are only as good as the spotter who filed them. The figures below come from National Weather Service local storm reports as compiled by a public hail-report archive; they are reports, not a survey of every roof.

Date	What was reported	Where
December 24, 2024	Hail reported at 1.5 inches; KPRC 2 described golf-ball-size stones	Cypress area
March 21, 2024	1.25-inch hail	Cypress area
June 23, 2023	Two reports of 2.0-inch hail	About 6 to 8 miles from Cypress
April 5, 2023	2.0-inch hail	Along the I-10 corridor near Fry Road, south of Cypress; 1.5 inches reported at North Fry Road and Morton Road

Confirm any date for your street in NOAA’s Storm Events Database before relying on it. A storm listed for “Cypress” may have missed your community entirely, and one that is not listed may still have hit it.

Finding the Bruise Under the Granules

A hailstone that hits hard enough knocks the granules off a spot on the shingle and can crack the fiberglass mat beneath. On a roof the contractor feels for it: a hail bruise gives slightly under a thumb, like a soft spot on fruit. Marks are circled in chalk so they can be photographed and counted per slope.

Soft metals keep a record too. Dents in ridge vents, turbine vents, gutters and downspouts, and spatter marks on painted surfaces, tell the contractor roughly how big the stones were and which direction they came from, and help separate fresh hail from years of ordinary wear.

Why a Bruise Matters Later

A cracked mat does not leak the next day. It loses granules, lets the sun reach the asphalt, and fails over the following seasons. That is why an assessment soon after a storm is worth more than one after the stains appear.

Asked About This in Cypress

What size hail damages a shingle roof?: Stones around an inch and larger are the ones most likely to bruise a standard laminated shingle, but wind, the age of the roof and the angle of impact all change the answer. Smaller hail can still strip granules from an old roof.
Would an impact-resistant shingle have helped?: Shingles rated Class 4 under UL 2218 are built to take a harder hit, and Texas Property Code section 202.011 limits an HOA's ability to prohibit wind- and hail-resistant shingles that resemble the approved ones. They resist damage; they do not make a roof hail-proof.
How do I know whether hail hit my street?: Look at soft metal first: dented gutters, downspouts, vent caps and mailbox tops. Then check NOAA's Storm Events Database for the date. If the metal is marked, the roof deserves a look.

Have the Bruises Found While They Are Still Small

Tell the contractor the date of the storm and whether you noticed dented gutters or vents. That points them to the right slopes.

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