If you have heard a rainstorm recently that sounded like large rocks landing on your roof, it was probably a hail storm. This is when rain freezes and turns into balls of ice, which can be quite damaging to your home. If it caused damage to the roof, it is important that you get it fixed right away. Here are some ways to know if you have hail damage on your roof.

Your Wood Shingles Are Split

You will notice different signs depending on the material of your roof. The first type of roofing material is wood, which doesn't show damage in the same way as asphalt or even tile roofing. With wood, what you are looking for is wood shingles that no longer have a uniform pattern. You may also notice that there are splits in the wood shingles from where the hail hit them, such as sharp edges or splits in shingles that are a different colour than the rest of the wood.

The Gutters or Flashing Is Damaged

You might not want to go all the way up to the roof just to see if there is damage, but you can often see it right from the ground. Look around the edge of your roof after a hail storm, as this can give you a lot of clues. You should be able to see the gutters from the ground, which may show dents around the edge, which is likely from the hail. If you can see metal flashing around the edge of the roof, that might also have dents from the hail. If you notice these signs around the flashing or gutters, it is a good reason to head up to the roof and see how severe the damage is.

There Are Granules on the Ground

Another sign you might notice even before you go up to the roof to look closely at the shingles or tiles is when there are granules on the ground. This is common when your roof is made of asphalt shingles. When the hail hits the asphalt, it often causes the granules to become loose, falling down onto the ground. Look around the house at the ground beneath where the roof's edge is, and you might notice granules or pieces of broken asphalt shingles. This is a very good indication of hail damage.

These signs are, of course, in addition to looking at the roofing materials themselves and seeing cracks, dents, or holes.