Wind and storm damage
Severe weather in Kalamazoo County arrives mostly as wind. Spring and autumn storm lines crossing the lake, summer thunderstorm outflow, and the long windy stretches of late autumn all work on a roof, and they work on it differently from hail.
Wind damage is directional and it starts at edges
Wind does not lift a shingle in the middle of a field. It gets underneath at an edge, and on a roof the edges are the gable end rake, the ridge line, the eave, and anywhere a plane simply stops, which usually means over a garage opening or alongside a dormer. Ridge caps are usually the first thing to go, because they sit proud and are fastened through a single layer.
Because wind comes from a direction, the damage is on one side. If the south and west faces show lifting and the north face is untouched, that is the shape of wind damage and it is worth pointing out to whoever inspects.
The creased shingle problem
This is the part homeowners and insurers argue about, so it is worth understanding. Asphalt shingles have an adhesive strip that bonds each course to the one below once the sun has warmed it. Wind that lifts a shingle breaks that bond and folds the shingle back on itself. When the wind drops, the shingle lies down again and looks completely normal from the ground.
It is not normal. The bond is gone and there is a crease across the shingle. That crease is a fracture line, and the shingle will fail at it. A roof can have dozens of them after one storm with nothing visibly missing.
The practical consequence is that a ground level look is not an inspection, and that written findings with dated photographs are worth insisting on whether or not an insurer is involved.
Age is the multiplier
A two year old roof shrugs off wind that strips a fifteen year old one. The adhesive bond weakens as shingles age and get brittle, and in this county the eave area has often been weakened further by years of ice. So the same storm produces nothing on one house and a major claim next door, and the difference is usually age and condition rather than luck.
What to do in the week after
Photograph what is visible from the ground, including any shingle pieces in the garden, and note the date of the storm. If water is getting in, get it covered before worrying about anything else. Then get an inspection with written findings.
Be deliberate about who you let on the roof. Michigan requires a licence for roofing work and the city permit application asks for its number, so asking for the licence number is a normal question and an easy filter after a storm brings crews into the area.
One independent southwest Michigan roofing company receives requests from this site. Tear off and reroof covers what happens if the answer is replacement, and ice dams covers the winter side.
Questions people ask
- Nothing is missing but the roofer says shingles are damaged. Is that real?
Usually yes. Wind lifts a shingle, breaks the seal along its adhesive strip, and sets it back down. From the ground everything looks intact. What has actually happened is that the shingle is no longer bonded to the one below and now has a crease across it, which is a hinge. The next strong wind takes it. This is a real and commonly disputed category of damage, which is why written findings with photographs matter.
- Does Kalamazoo get much hail?
Some, but far less than the plains states, and it is not the thing that ages roofs here. If a roofer is heavily focused on hail in southwest Michigan it is worth asking what they are seeing and having them show you. The dominant damage in this county is wind, ice and ordinary weathering.
- A tree limb came down on the roof. What happens?
Get it made safe and covered rather than rushing a repair. A limb strike often damages more than it appears to, because the impact can fracture decking and shift framing beyond the visible hole. A proper assessment looks in the attic as well as on the roof, and a repair scoped from the outside alone tends to be too small.