Photo credits

Every photo on this site is public domain (mostly U.S. government work) or Creative Commons licensed, from Wikimedia Commons. Illustrations were drawn for HERE City.

We use only photos we are allowed to reuse: works of the U.S. federal government (FEMA, NOAA, the National Weather Service and the U.S. military), which are in the public domain, and photos their authors released under Creative Commons licenses. We do not use photos from roofing companies, insurers, IBHS or news sites. If you are the author of a photo and see a credit error, email [email protected].

Photos may have been resized and cropped. Creative Commons ShareAlike photos remain under their original license.

Photos

A FEMA inspector bends to look along a ribbed metal roof for hail dents after a 2010 storm in Moore, Oklahoma

Metal roofs: an inspector sights along the ribs of a metal roof in Moore, Oklahoma, after May 2010 hail. Dents show best in low, raking light.

By Win Henderson / FEMA. License: Public domain (U.S. government work). Source: Wikimedia Commons.

An inspector walks a hail-damaged metal roof on a municipal building in Moore, Oklahoma, May 2010

A careful roof walk on a hail-damaged metal roof (Moore, Oklahoma, 2010). Leave roof walks to the adjuster or a licensed roofer.

By Win Henderson / FEMA. License: Public domain (U.S. government work). Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Two men inspect hail damage to a rooftop air conditioning unit and vent stacks on a flat roof

Soft metal and equipment: inspectors check a rooftop air conditioner and vent stacks for hail damage in Moore, Oklahoma (2010). Bent condenser fins and dented caps help show where hail hit.

By Win Henderson / FEMA. License: Public domain (U.S. government work). Source: Wikimedia Commons.

A truck windshield with a large starburst crack from a baseball-size hailstone

Baseball-size hail (about 2.75 inches) cracked this city truck windshield in Oklahoma in May 2010. Vehicles parked outside are good evidence of hail size and direction.

By Win Henderson / FEMA. License: Public domain (U.S. government work). Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Side-by-side photos of a metal-sided building with hail-broken window panels, before and after repair

Hail broke the translucent window panels along this metal building at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, on July 28, 2016 (left); the right side shows it after repairs.

By Robert Lingley / U.S. Space Force. License: Public domain (U.S. government work). Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Roofing crew installing new shingles on base housing roofs damaged by a 2018 hailstorm

After the claim: crews re-roof housing at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, in July 2019 to repair damage from a 2018 hailstorm.

By Airman 1st Class Jonathan Whitely / U.S. Air Force. License: Public domain (U.S. government work). Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Workers on a lift and roof replacing shingles on a row of two-story homes after hail

A full roof replacement in progress after hail, Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, 2019.

By Airman 1st Class Jonathan Whitely / U.S. Air Force. License: Public domain (U.S. government work). Source: Wikimedia Commons.

A silver car with its rear window smashed and the roof dented by hail in Missouri

Hail damage to a car in Missouri, April 2001. When a car parked outside is dented, check the roof, gutters and siding facing the same direction.

By NWS St. Louis. License: Public domain (U.S. government work). Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Collage of hail damage to cars: broken side mirrors, a cracked headlight and a broken hubcap

Hail damage on vehicles after the July 4, 2010 hailstorm in Limon, Colorado.

By James St. John. License: CC BY 2.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

A second-floor motel window with a shattered pane after a hailstorm

A west-facing window broken by hail in Limon, Colorado (July 2010). Damage concentrated on one side of a building points to the storm's direction.

By James St. John. License: CC BY 2.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

A white rendered wall covered in small dark pockmarks from hail impacts

Siding and walls: hail pocked this exterior wall in Einsiedeln, Switzerland, in July 2010. Painted siding, stucco and vinyl can show the same spatter of impact marks.

By Chris.urs-o. License: CC BY-SA 3.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

An apartment building facade covered with dark hail impact marks and cars with dented roofs below

Hail spattered the facade of this apartment building in Požega, Croatia, on June 25, 2021, and dented the cars below.

By Nikola. License: CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Two hands holding golf-ball-size hailstones at night

Golf ball size hail is about 1.75 inches across.

By NOAA. License: Public domain (U.S. government work). Source: Wikimedia Commons.

A hailstone next to a ruler, labeled Ada, OK, 29 Apr 78

A large hailstone measured against a ruler, Ada, Oklahoma, April 29, 1978. Measure the largest stones you find and photograph them next to a ruler or coin.

By NOAA. License: Public domain (U.S. government work). Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Large hailstones covering a street and grass at dusk

Large hail piles up on a street during a severe thunderstorm; the largest stones were about 2 to 3 inches.

By NOAA Photo Library / NSSL. License: Public domain (U.S. government work). Source: Wikimedia Commons.

A single very large, spiky hailstone held in a gloved hand

A very large, irregular hailstone. Spiky stones like this can strike harder than their size suggests.

By NOAA Photo Library. License: Public domain (U.S. government work). Source: Wikimedia Commons.

A hand holding two hailstones about the size of golf balls over hail-covered ground

Hail about golf ball size in a hand, for scale (Perth, Australia, March 2010).

By FCB Excalibur. License: CC BY-SA 2.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

A tape measure laid across a carpet of small hailstones

Small hail measured with a tape. Hail under about an inch rarely damages a sound asphalt roof, but measure and photograph it anyway.

By Sebbog13. License: CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Archival photo of a 4-inch hailstone with a ruler

A 4-inch hailstone that fell in Washington, D.C., in May 1953, from Snowden D. Flora's "Hailstorms of the United States" (1956).

By NOAA Photo Library. License: Public domain (U.S. government work). Source: Wikimedia Commons.

A white church with blue tarps covering its hail-damaged roof

Tarps cover a hail-damaged roof after the November 2014 Brisbane hailstorm while repairs wait.

By Shiftchange. License: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication). Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Badly aged brown asphalt shingles with curled, shrunken flaps and exposed nails

Not hail: age and weather. These shingles shrank and cracked over many years, evenly across the slope. Insurers usually treat this as wear, not storm damage.

By Dale Mahalko. License: CC BY-SA 3.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Asphalt shingles worn more heavily along the eave below a wall where water runs off

Not hail: wear concentrated where water drains off an upper roof. A pattern that follows water flow points to wear; hail hits are random.

By Dale Mahalko. License: CC BY-SA 3.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Dark vertical streaks of algae on a gray asphalt shingle roof

Not hail: the dark streaks are algae (Gloeocapsa magma). They are cosmetic and are not storm damage.

By Mcbooz. License: CC BY-SA 3.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Gray asphalt shingles with cracked and broken tabs where branches fell on them

Wind and debris: branches blown out of a nearby tree during a thunderstorm cracked these shingles. Branch damage is usually concentrated under the tree.

By Samuel Bolton. License: CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Gray shingles with lifted, misaligned courses on a steep roof

Not hail: these shingles failed from poor installation and age, according to the photographer. Installation defects are generally not covered by insurance.

By Sandul1234. License: CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

A large tree trunk lying across the roof of a house after a tornado outbreak

A tree on the roof after the May 5, 1989 tornado outbreak in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

By Nicole Johnson. License: CC BY 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

A brick house with a large limb broken onto its roof and debris in the yard

Roof damage from a downed limb, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, May 1989.

By Nicole Johnson. License: CC BY 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

A two-story house with tornado damage to its roof and dormer, surrounded by downed trees

Tornado damage to a roof and dormer, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, May 1989.

By Nicole Johnson. License: CC BY 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

An uprooted tree with its root ball exposed, fallen against a house beside another downed tree

Two trees uprooted by wind fell on this home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after Hurricane Gustav (September 2008).

By Barry Bahler / FEMA. License: Public domain (U.S. government work). Source: Wikimedia Commons.

A tree trunk snapped and leaning against the front of a brick house

A trunk snapped by a derecho leans on a house in Arlington, Virginia, June 2012.

By Arlington County. License: CC BY-SA 2.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Two houses side by side; the left roof has missing shingles and the right looks intact

Wind: Hurricane Isaac blew shingles off the roof on the left in 2012, while the house next door shows no visible damage. Wind damage often varies house to house.

By Infrogmation of New Orleans. License: CC BY-SA 3.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

A worker in a hard hat nails a blue tarp to a roof with furring strips

Temporary protection: a worker fastens a blue tarp with wood strips after Hurricane Ike (Texas, 2008).

By Leif Skoogfors / FEMA. License: Public domain (U.S. government work). Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Three men unroll a large blue tarp over a damaged shingle roof

A homeowner and volunteers roll out a tarp to keep water out after tornado winds (Tecumseh, Oklahoma, May 2010).

By Win Henderson / FEMA. License: Public domain (U.S. government work). Source: Wikimedia Commons.

A brick house with a blue tarp covering its damaged roof

A tarp protects a tornado-damaged roof until repairs (Tecumseh, Oklahoma, 2010). Photograph the damage before the tarp goes on.

By Win Henderson / FEMA. License: Public domain (U.S. government work). Source: Wikimedia Commons.

A roofing crew tearing off and replacing shingles on a single-story house

A roofing crew replaces shingles on a storm-damaged home in Moore, Oklahoma (May 2010).

By Win Henderson / FEMA. License: Public domain (U.S. government work). Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Illustrations

These diagrams were drawn for HERE City to show what legally reusable photos cannot. They are labeled as illustrations wherever they appear.

$Illustration: cross-section of an asphalt shingle showing a hail hit that knocked off granules and fractured the mat underneath$

Illustration: what a hail bruise is. The granules are knocked away and the fiberglass mat under the asphalt is fractured, so the spot feels soft and can let water in later.

Illustration by HERE City.

Illustration: two roof slopes side by side, one with random round hail marks and one with even wear and streaks

Illustration: hail hits are random and round, with no pattern. Wear, blistering and algae follow the sun, water flow or the whole slope.

Illustration by HERE City.

Illustration: a 10 by 10 foot test square marked in chalk on a roof slope with hail hits circled

Illustration: the 10-by-10-foot test square many adjusters and roofers use. Hits inside the square are circled and counted on each slope.

Illustration by HERE City.

Illustration: a house diagram labeling places to check for hail evidence: gutters, downspouts, vents, AC fins, window wraps, siding, fence, car

Illustration: where to look for hail from the ground. Soft metal and painted surfaces show hail first.

Illustration by HERE City.

Illustration: circles comparing hail sizes from pea to softball with diameters in inches

Illustration: common hail size names used by the National Weather Service, drawn to scale.

Illustration by HERE City.

Illustration: side-by-side comparison of a cosmetic dent on a metal panel and a functional puncture letting water through

Illustration: cosmetic damage changes how a roof looks; functional damage affects how it keeps water out or how long it will last.

Illustration by HERE City.