A man in Round Rock recently made news in the most unexpected way.
News outlets reported local resident Dante Neal was keeping a special surprise in his freezer: A snowball. That snowball came from the 2017 winter season.
That’s right: At the time the world learned about it, the snowball was a year old.
That probably makes it the oldest snowball anywhere in the continental U.S.
Dante said he was inspired because 2017 was the first time he saw snow in 12 years.
Of course, not everyone in Round Rock loves snow as much as Dante. Many people – especially in the roofing industry – don’t mind warm weather if it means not having to worry about the damage snow can do to your roof!
But ... even if snows and their complications are on the rare side, calling a Round Rock roofer for an annual roof inspection is a good move. It’ll be the rainy season before you know it. Is your roof ready?
Round Rock Roofing Weather Woes -- and How You Can Remedy Them
The Problem with Hail in Round Rock
Hail forms in strong thunderstorm clouds, and conditions within those clouds are such that it doesn’t need to be the dead of winter for hail to show up! Over the course of 2021, Round Rock had nearly a dozen verified reports of hail by trained hail spotters.
Hail gets a lot less press than rain or snow, but it packs a punch when it does arrive. And whenever a major thunderstorm is in the neighborhood, you can never be sure whether hail will develop.
Ask any Round Rock roofer: They’ve seen hail punch through a shingle with a direct hit. This leaves the shingle cracked or bruised and unable to stand up against the winds and rain that come with the storm. It’s one of the fastest ways to go from a sound roof to one with leaks.
How do you know if you have hail damage?
- -Listen for the sound of hailstones bouncing off the roof
- -After the storm, look for a tell-tale round dent in shingles
- -Dented shingles may be noticeably darker and softer
- -Less-severe strikes can cause cracks on the shingle surface
But even when you don’t notice any visible signs of hail damage, it can still be there.
In fact, smaller hailstones have the potential to be even more devastating to shingle roofs.
How the heck could that happen, you ask?
While larger hailstones skip off the roof, smaller ones have the potential to get embedded between the shingles, where they can melt away and infiltrate beneath them. That allows them to pose some danger to the waterproof underlayment under the shingle layer.
On its own, this would be no big deal. But combined with the downpour during a thunderstorm and the pooling water that can be caused by a damaged shingle, it may put pressure on one specific part of the roof. That can cause a small leak to become a big one before the weather has even passed.
A Round Rock Metal Roof Can Give You Peace of Mind When the Weather Is Harsh
If you have metal roofing in Round Rock, you’re in luck.
Any good Round Rock roofer knows that metal roofing is more resistant to wind, snow, rain, and hail. But sometimes you have to see it to believe it.
When installed correctly, a metal roof is designed so hail can bounce right off, even if the initial impact is rough. What happens if a metal roof takes a direct hit from hail? In most cases, nothing. Unlike a shingle roof, smaller hailstones pose no danger to a metal roof.
This is especially true of a standing seam metal roof, where the fasteners are protected. The fasteners are the weak point of any roof system: For shingles, that means the roofing nails. Metal roofing panels have their own fastening system that’s safeguarded by the raised metal rib of the standing seam design.
The biggest, baddest hailstones can produce a noticeable dent, but it’s solely cosmetic. Most of the time, this won’t weaken the panel. In the event there is substantial damage to one panel, it can be removed and replaced in a snap by a qualified Round Rock roofer.
You Can’t Change the Weather, But You Can Update Your Roof
Throughout the Austin area, the weather can be unpredictable. Make sure your roof is ready for anything by contacting your local Round Rock roofer for a roof inspection. An inspection means you can get roof repair done early and stop small problems from turning into big ones.
Contact Longhorn Roofing to get your roofing project done fast and right.
Rain Can Be Just as Damaging as Snow for Round Rock Roofs
Roofing professionals get a lot of fun and interesting questions from clients.
One of the ones we’ve heard a lot here in Round Rock:
What’s really the most dangerous for roofs: Snow or rain?
The answer is both. It depends on how you look at it.
Pound for pound, snow is more likely than rain to cause sudden and catastrophic failure in your roof. There are two main ways this can happen.
First, it can pile up in such a way that it damages a pressure point in the roof that suddenly gives way. Your only sign of this might be a leak that springs suddenly and gets bigger in a hurry.
Second, it can go through multiple cycles of melting and re-freezing within a short period. This causes materials on the roof to warp. It can especially harm roof flashing and fasteners.
These are both structural weak points on your roof to begin with. Once they become distorted, due to changes in temperature, they will usually spring serious leaks in a very short time.
But that’s not the whole story. Many of the hazards posed by snow are actually caused when it melts away. A lighter volume of rain can actually be more trouble to your roof than snow.
This is especially true when your roof is not in good condition.
Water must run off your roof correctly to keep it structurally sound. If the roof’s pitch has been compromised by damage or the gutters aren’t draining right, water can flow right into the foot of your building. Over time, this can undermine your whole foundation!
January is the Best Time to Get a Round Rock Roofing Inspection
Whether it comes from rain or snow, any unaddressed roofing problem is bad news.
Since January and February are the driest months for the Austin area, it’s a good time to get your roof inspected.
