Can you tell wind damage from hail damage just by looking at your roof? Often yes, and knowing the difference matters because Washington insurance carriers treat the two as separate perils with different evidence requirements. Wind damage shows up as lifted, creased, or missing shingles concentrated on one exposure, the side the storm hit. Hail damage shows up as scattered circular bruises and dents across every exposure, including the metal: gutters, downspouts, vents, and flashing. This guide is a homeowner’s field guide to identifying which one you have, documenting it correctly, and understanding what Washington insurance will and will not cover, written for Eastside homes in Kirkland, Bellevue, Bothell, Redmond, and Seattle.

Wind damage: what it looks like on an Eastside roof

Wind is by far the more common roof peril in the Pacific Northwest. The region averages a dozen or more wind events a year above the 35 mph threshold most carriers use, and bomb cyclones with 50 to 70 mph sustained winds hit the Eastside every few years.

What wind damage looks like from the ground and the ladder:

• Lifted or creased shingles along one slope, usually the windward (storm-facing) side
• Missing shingles or tabs, often with a clean line where the wind got under the edge
• Shingles in the yard or against the fence after the storm
• Displaced or lifted ridge caps at the peak
• Tree limbs on the roof and the impact damage they cause
• Detached or sagging gutter sections where wind got under them

The tell for wind is concentration and direction. Damage clusters on the exposure that faced the storm, and it appears immediately, shingles in the yard the morning after.

Hail damage: what it looks like, and why it hides

Hail is much rarer here. Western Washington gets one to three measurable hail events a year, and most produce hail too small to hurt asphalt. Damaging hail (three-quarters of an inch or larger) hits the Eastside only every four to seven years. When it does, the damage looks completely different from wind:

• Soft, dark, circular bruises on the shingle surface, often not visible from the ground
• Granule loss in round impact patterns rather than the streaky loss of normal aging
• Dents and splatter marks on metal: this is the giveaway. Check the gutters, downspouts, vents, and flashing. Hail that bruises shingles also dimples metal, and metal dents are far easier to see than shingle bruises.
• Cracked or punctured plastic vents and pipe boots

The hard part with hail is that roof damage is often invisible from the driveway. This is why the metal matters so much for identification: dents in your gutters and downspouts are visible proof that hail of a damaging size hit your home, even when you cannot see the shingle bruises yourself.

The gutter clue most homeowners miss

As a roof and gutter specialist, here is a diagnostic most homeowners overlook: your gutters and downspouts are the easiest place to read storm damage, because metal records impacts that shingles hide.

• Hail leaves round dents and dimples scattered across the top surfaces of gutters, the tops of downspouts, and any metal flashing.
• Wind leaves gutters detached, sagging, or pulled away from the fascia, but not dimpled.
• Tree and debris strikes leave isolated, larger dents in one spot rather than a scattered pattern.

If your aluminum gutters look like a golf ball, you had damaging hail, and your roof almost certainly has matching bruises a trained inspector can find. If your gutters are pulled loose but smooth, you had wind. Reading the metal is the fastest way for a homeowner to know which conversation to have with their insurer.

How to document damage so the claim holds up

Whichever peril you have, the documentation rules are the same, and getting them right is what separates an approved claim from a denied one:

Photograph before you touch anything. The most common reason Washington claims get denied is repair work done before the adjuster sees the original damage. Even emergency tarping should come after photos.

Get wide shots and close shots. Wide shots show the pattern (one exposure for wind, all exposures for hail). Close shots show individual shingles, dented gutters, and any metal damage.

Note the date and the storm. Carriers cross-reference your claim against NOAA weather data for that date. A claim tied to a specific documented storm is far stronger than a vague “we noticed damage.”

Document the metal. Photograph the gutters, downspouts, vents, and flashing specifically. For hail especially, the metal damage is often your clearest evidence.

Move fast. Most Washington policies require a sworn proof of loss within 60 days of the event. Document within days, not weeks.

What Washington insurance covers, briefly

Both wind and hail are covered perils on standard Washington homeowners policies, but two details catch homeowners off guard:

• Separate wind/hail deductibles. Many Washington policies now apply a percentage deductible (1 to 2 percent of dwelling coverage) for wind and hail instead of a flat dollar amount. On a higher-value Eastside home that can mean a much larger out-of-pocket number than you expect. Read your declaration page.
• Cosmetic damage exclusions. Some carriers now exclude purely cosmetic metal damage (dented gutters that still function) while covering functional damage (a bruised roof that will leak). The line between cosmetic and functional is where claims get argued, and documentation decides it.

Frequently asked questions

How can I tell if my roof damage is from wind or hail?

Wind damage concentrates on one exposure with lifted or missing shingles and detached gutters. Hail damage scatters across all exposures with circular bruises on shingles and dents on metal gutters, downspouts, and flashing. Checking the metal is the fastest homeowner test.

My gutters are dented but my roof looks fine. Do I have a claim?

Possibly. Dented metal from hail means damaging-size hail hit your home, and the roof likely has bruises you cannot see from the ground. A professional inspection confirms whether the shingles took matching damage worth a claim.

Should I get on the roof to check myself?

No. Document what you can see safely from the ground and from a window, photograph the gutters, and have a licensed contractor do the roof inspection. Wet Pacific Northwest roofs are dangerous, and an untrained eye misses hail bruising anyway.

How long do I have to file after a storm?

Most Washington policies require a sworn proof of loss within 60 days. Photograph the damage within days, file promptly, and get a contractor inspection and estimate well inside the window.

Does Atrax repair gutter and downspout hail damage too?

Yes. As a roof and gutter specialist we assess and repair both the roof and the metal systems, and we document the full scope, roof plus gutters, to insurance carrier standards so nothing covered gets left off the claim.

Get a post-storm inspection across the Eastside

If a recent wind or hail event hit your Kirkland, Bellevue, Bothell, Redmond, or Seattle home, the right next step is a free inspection. We identify whether the damage profile is wind or hail (or both), check the roof and the gutter system, and document everything to insurance carrier standards so your claim has the evidence it needs.

Atrax Roof and Gutter is licensed, bonded, and insured in Washington, GAF Certified and CertainTeed Certified, serving the Eastside since 2018. We assess roof and gutter damage together, because storms hit both.

Call (425) 449-2878 for a free post-storm roof and gutter inspection.