Raleigh Storm Damage Roofers: Hail, Wind & Fallen Trees

What hits Raleigh roofs

Ten years of NOAA storm records for Wake County, 2016 through 2025, read like a demolition schedule: 125 hail reports on 30 separate days, 322 damaging thunderstorm-wind reports and 5 tornadoes. 93 of those hail reports were an inch or larger — the size the National Weather Service calls severe — and 22 were golf-ball size or bigger.

• 125

  hail reports in Wake County, 2016–2025

• 93

  of them 1 inch or larger — the NWS “severe” line

• 2.75 in.

  largest hail, May 13, 2019

• 322

  damaging thunderstorm-wind reports

• 76 mph

  strongest measured gust, September 8, 2023

• 5

  tornadoes (strongest EF2)

Wind and falling trees

Raleigh’s tree canopy is beautiful until the wind gets into it. Hurricane Fran in 1996 is the benchmark: the National Weather Service’s service assessment says strong inland winds on saturated ground left several hundred thousand trees uprooted or broken and thousands of homes damaged by falling trees, and NWS Raleigh records over $900 million in residential and commercial damage in Wake County alone.

The last decade kept coming: Florence’s 40 to 60 mph gusts in 2018 put numerous trees down across Wake County, including on homes; Tropical Storm Michael knocked out power to about 20,000 customers at its peak a month later; and Ian in 2022 brought down trees and power lines, some on homes. In 2016, Hermine dropped a large tree through the roof of a house near New Hill.

Thunderstorms do it without a name: the strongest measured gust in Wake County’s records is 66 knots — about 76 mph — at Raleigh-Durham International on September 8, 2023. July is peak season for damaging wind, with 81 of the 322 reports.

The first 48 hours after a Raleigh storm

1. 1

   Get everyone clear

   Stay out of rooms under a sagging ceiling or a tree strike, and treat every downed line as live. Call the utility before anyone goes near one.

2. 2

   Photograph before anything moves

   Roof, attic, ceilings, siding, gutters and the yard — with a coin or ruler next to the hail. Pictures taken before cleanup are the backbone of a claim.

3. 3

   Stop the water

   The NC Department of Insurance tells homeowners to “make temporary repairs so further damage doesn’t occur and keep your receipts” — and to hold off on permanent repairs until the insurer has inspected. An emergency tarp is exactly that kind of repair.

4. 4

   Report it promptly

   NCDOI notes that every homeowners policy in North Carolina requires prompt notice to your agent or company — and that the insurer should acknowledge the claim within 30 days.

5. 5

   Don’t sign at the door

   NCDOI warns homeowners to “beware of contractor or roofing representatives going door-to-door after a disaster.” Get your own quotes from roofers with a local record — like the ones on this page.

North Carolina gives you extra protection against high-pressure storm sales: a residential roof contract sold away from the seller’s place of business carries a five-business-day cancellation window after an insurance claim denial, and the seller can’t start work or take payment during it. (Licensed general contractors are outside that rule, and emergency work you approve in writing can be billed.)

Raleigh storm and cost references

Wake County storm history, repair and replacement costs, and state rules, on the National Roofing Directory.

• Wake County storm history
• North Carolina storm center
• Storm and roof repair costs in Raleigh
• Roof replacement prices in Raleigh
• Raleigh roofing companies on the National Roofing Directory
• North Carolina roofer license requirements