Central Texas Hail Peaks in May, Not in Fall. Plan the Roof Around That

Most people think about the roof after something happens to it. The trouble with that instinct is that it puts the entire Brazos Valley on the phone in the same week, every time, and it means the condition of your roof before the storm is a matter of memory rather than record.

Here is the short version. Central Texas hail peaks in May. The first light freeze lands between 27 and 29 November. Those two dates give the year its shape: look at the roof in late winter, before hail season, and again in early fall, before the freeze. Two unhurried inspections on your own calendar beat one urgent one on everybody else's.

Why May, and why that changes the schedule

Hail here is a spring phenomenon. It comes from the same setup that produces our severe weather season, and it concentrates in May rather than spreading evenly through the year. That is a useful thing to know because it makes the roofing year predictable in a way most homeowners never take advantage of.

If hail peaks in May, then the productive window for inspection is February and March. The weather is workable, nobody is competing for the appointment, and anything that turns up can be handled deliberately rather than under a tarp.

Compare that to the alternative. A May storm passes, several thousand homes need attention in the same fortnight, and the roofs that get looked at first are the ones with water actively coming in. Everyone else waits. That wait is not a scheduling annoyance, it is a period during which a compromised roof sits through whatever comes next.

The second inspection, and why fall is the other date

The first freeze between 27 and 29 November is the other fixed point in the year. Freezing water expands, and it expands inside whatever gap it found. A joint that was merely imperfect in October is an opening in December.

So the fall look is a different look. In spring you are checking for impact and displacement. In fall you are checking for water paths: gutters that hold standing water, flashing that has pulled back, sealant that has cracked, and an attic that is dry and ventilating.

What a pre-season record actually gets you

The most underrated reason to inspect before hail season has nothing to do with finding problems. It is that you end up with dated photographs of a roof in known condition.

When damage is assessed later, the question that comes up is always the same: what did this look like before? A homeowner who can answer that with dated images is in a different position from one who cannot. We are describing what a record is, not advising you on how to handle any claim, which is a conversation for you and your carrier.

Keep the photographs somewhere you will find them. Date them. Include a few wide shots that show the whole plane, not only close ups of anything that looks unusual.

What we look at, by roofing system

EV performs four roofing systems, and the inspection is not identical across them.

Shingle. Impact bruising, granule loss concentrated rather than general, tabs lifted at the seal strip, and the condition of valleys and penetrations.

Metal. Fastener backout, panel movement at the seam, oil canning that has changed since the last look, and the condition of closures at ridge and eave.

TPO and commercial systems. Seam integrity, punctures, ponding that has not drained within the expected window, and the condition of terminations and flashings at every curb and edge.

In all four cases the attic or the interior side, where there is one, tells you things the surface will not.

The rhythm, written down

• February to March. Full inspection before hail season. Photograph the roof in known condition and date the images.

• May. Severe weather peak. If a storm passes over your address, note the date and photograph anything visible from the ground.

• September to October. Fall inspection. Gutters, flashing, sealant, attic ventilation, before the freeze.

• 27 to 29 November. First light freeze, typically. Anything unresolved by this point gets handled in worse conditions.

Two appointments a year, both of them on your terms.

EV Roofing & Construction carries a 10 year workmanship warranty on roofing work. The office is in Bryan, TX 77808, and the number is (979) 406-5431. Hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm.