What Size Hail Will Damage a Roof? (w/Updated 2024 Chart)


What Size Hail Will Damage a Roof (Blog Cover)

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Any hail larger than a ½ inch can damage a roof, meaning ¾-inch to 1-inch hail (quarter size) and 1 ¾-inch to 4 ½-inch hail (golf ball size) should prompt a call to your insurance company.


Assessing Roof Hail Damage by Size

When a storm rolls through your town, there are a lot of things that can do damage. Heavy winds are the usual culprit, but hail is another type of storm that can do a ton of damage. The most recent annual data estimates there were over 3,700 hail storms in the United States.

When those pieces of hail start to grow in size, you can be concerned about things like your car or, even worse, your roof. The costs can be heavy when there is damage to your roof of any kind. Even a little damage can cost thousands of dollars, and most of us do not have that kind of money lying around.

Because hail damage leads are often hot items for roofers, cities recently hit by storms will be ripe with them. Be aware of whom you’re dealing with. What’s worse is dealing with insurance companies.

They say they are there for us when disaster strikes, but the fact is that most insurance companies will find any reason not to pay out a claim. It is how they strengthen their bottom line, after all.

When hail becomes a point of concern, it can help to know what size hail can damage your roof. Again, not all hail is worth worrying about, but when those bigger chunks do begin to hit, you can be left wondering what to do. Inspecting your own roof is dangerous, and you may not know what to look for.


Hail Size Measurement

Most people won’t be able to manually measure hail during a storm, which means you can use common identifiers like “golf ball size” and “marble size” to estimate.



Understanding which hail sizes can damage your roof gives you a good inclination about when to call in an inspector to check for damage on your roof. Here are a few of the most common hail sizes known to inflict damage on roofs throughout the country.


¼-inch Hail (Pea-sized Hail)

Your milder hailstorms will generally produce this size of hail and only for a few minutes at a time before it shifts over to a steadier rainfall. When dealing with this size of hail, a roof can often fair pretty well. Use some common sense and judgment before jumping to any conclusions.

If you have an older roof with existing damage, pea-sized hail could exacerbate the present damage. Be aware of the condition of your roof before making a judgment on whether or not your roof needs an inspection after a hailstorm.


½-inch Hail (Marble-sized Hail)

As a general rule of thumb, marble-sized hail can also fall into the safe zone when it comes to hail. This means that it is generally not thought to cause damage to roofs that don’t already have substantial damage. 

Remember that hail is produced by updrafts of wind that shoot raindrops higher into the atmosphere. It freezes when it gets higher into the atmosphere and then falls back to Earth.

When you have more extreme winds, the hailstones will generally be larger. While the quarter-inch-sized hailstones might not be of much concern, exercise caution and common sense again.

If you have any thoughts that there might be damage to your roof, call in an inspector immediately.


Hail Size Damage Chart

¾-inch to 1-inch Hail (Dime to Quarter-sized Hail)

When you begin to see hailstones that are larger than the ½-inch described above, you should call in an inspector immediately. Finding a reputable local roofer is a great place to start, and you also need to make sure that you place a call to your insurance agent.

Hail this size will generally damage roofs in the form of dents and cracks, though in some cases, it can definitely leave greater damage.

Do not leave this unaddressed; expensive as it can be if you leave the damage unaddressed, it could become a more expensive, extensive, and potentially dangerous condition to live in.

It is imperative that you talk to your insurance agent immediately in any event. Knowing what your policy covers and what might be paid for can help you determine what your budget is and what contractor to go with.

Part of the headache of dealing with damage to your roof is dealing with the insurance company; try to get that duck in a row as soon as possible.


Hail on Ground

Once hail size approaches 1 inch, you will most certainly have roofing damage of some form. It’s important to contact your insurance company as soon as possible.


1 ¾-inch to 4 ½-inch Hail (Golf Ball-sized Hail)

While this isn’t the most uncommon size range of hail, it can present substantial damage to your roof, car, and home. If you see storms with hail of this size rolling through the area, you can be almost positive that damage is done.

Much like the previous size, if you hail this size, you first want to get your insurance agent on the phone and discuss your options.

They might even work with you to send out a roofer to do an inspection, determining what the overall damage is before moving forward. If your policy covers you, there’s a good chance that some of the damage done to your roof can be covered.

Hail can be a nasty beast, even if it rears its ugly head only once in a while. Whenever there is hail in your area, it is critical that you assess the size of the hailstones first and foremost. Under ¾-inch, you are probably fine unless your roof already has substantial damage and age.

Anything larger than 1/2 inch, and you will likely need to discuss the next step with your insurance agent and find a roofing contractor to perform an inspection on your roof.


The Bottom Line for Roofs With Hail Damage

Being calm and knowing the steps to take when a hailstorm hits your area can make all the difference in the world when trying to get the necessary repairs done.

The key is not to panic and not jump to conclusions. Make sure that you take all of the proper steps so that you can not only get your roof repaired but get it done in a cost-effective way.

If you are unsure whether or not your roof was damaged by a hail storm, getting an inspection is the best option. Even if the hail is around 1/2 inch in size, it can exacerbate existing problems with the roofing system.

When hail is larger than 1/2 inch, including quarter and golf ball size, your roof is almost certainly in danger. The more quickly you address damage from hail storms, the less future complications arise.