How Texas Weather Affects Your Roof

Texas sunshine comes with ultraviolet radiation that can damage your roof over time. Your asphalt shingles can become dry and brittle, which in turn makes them more likely to be damaged by hail. Some materials expand in the heat, which can result in loosened fasteners and cracked materials. If the hot weather is accompanied by high humidity, moisture can collect in the attic and potentially cause an interior leak or a mold problem.

Thunderstorms are hardly rare in Central Texas, and often these storms happen during the hot weather months. If you have even one broken shingle or cracked seal in a torrential storm, water can collect around your flashing or roof edges and cause a damaging leak.

The most damaging weather for your roof, besides a tornado, can be a strong wind moving in a straight line without rotation (hurricanes generally have rotating winds). These strong, straight winds can pull asphalt shingles or metal panels off your roof, leaving parts of your roof in danger of water penetration.

Most people think a hailstorm with large hail is one of the most damaging weather types for your roof. However, small hail can dent and crack your roof shingles, too. The small hailstones can also remove granules from your shingles, making them more vulnerable to UV rays, heat from the sun, and the damaging effects of rain, wind, snow, and ice.

April, May, and June are the rainiest months in Central Texas. On average, we get over 2.5 inches in April, over 5 inches of rain in May, and an average of 3.8 inches in June. September and October also get considerable rain. All that spring rain makes the trees, flowers, and foliage grow and turns everything a magnificent green.

All that spring rain can damage your roof because hard rain can weaken shingles until they deteriorate and sag and are no longer firm and sturdy to adequately protect your roof. And spring also can bring hailstorms. Winds create updrafts in the cloud layer and freeze moisture that becomes hail. When the hail falls on a weak and sagging roof, damage can occur. Heavy winds can blow twigs and branches onto your roof, potentially creating leaks on your roof. Leaks created in a strong thunderstorm can go unnoticed until enough water collects in your attic that it eventually finds a way into your house through a light fixture.

This is why we recommend that homeowners have their roofs inspected every spring and after every strong storm, too. Storms are chaotic events where nature unleashes powerful destructive forces that can damage your roof. Professional roofers know the kind of damage a big storm can cause and know where to look for it on your roof and in your attic.

Protect your investment. Call the Austin roofing specialists of Alco Roofing for a no-cost inspection of your roof today.