Storm Damage Map for Texas Roofers (2026 Edition)

Texas leads the U.S. in hail damage every year, and DFW is the most hail-active metro in the country. The 2026 season has already produced multiple significant events in the metro: May 9 in Mesquite and Garland, late April in Plano and Frisco, late February in McKinney.

See current activity on the live Texas hail map — every NOAA hail report in Texas from the last 90 days, updated daily, free.

For Texas roofers, hail data isn't optional. It's the difference between knowing where to focus and randomly canvassing. This post is the practical guide to using storm data effectively in Texas specifically. If you want the wider menu of options first, we keep a running breakdown of hail maps and their alternatives for roofers.

Texas's 2026 hail season at a glance

DFW is the most hail-active metro in the U.S. The 2026 season patterns so far:

Active zones (Q1-Q2 2026):

• Mesquite (75150, 75180, 75181) — 3 distinct events
• Plano (75024, 75025, 75093) — 2 events with hail 1.5"+
• Frisco (75033, 75034, 75035) — 1 major event
• McKinney (75070, 75071, 75072) — 2 events
• Arlington (76016, 76017) — 1 event with widespread damage signatures
• Garland (75040, 75041, 75044) — 1 major event

Houston, San Antonio, and Austin also saw activity but less concentrated than DFW.

Patterns from this season:

• Hail size averaged 1.25-1.75" — large enough to damage older asphalt, marginal on impact-resistant shingles
• Event frequency ran slightly above 2024-2025 averages
• Carriers moved faster than in 2024, and the 14-day adjuster window held more consistently

The 14-day insurance adjuster window (Texas-specific)

In Texas, carriers are obligated to acknowledge claims within 15 days under the Texas Insurance Code. In practice, most reputable carriers send an adjuster within 14-21 days of claim filing.

Why this matters for roofers:

• Day 0-3 post-storm: identification window (you find damaged homes)
• Day 3-7: outreach window (you contact homeowners and they decide to file)
• Day 7-14: documentation window (claim filed, your scope of work prepared)
• Day 14-21: adjuster arrives, your documentation either helps or hurts

After day 21, the adjuster's scope is largely locked and your influence is minimal. You're now bidding against contractor #5 on the homeowner's list.

Texas roofers who win storm-claim work consistently do it inside the 21-day window. The shops that move slower play second-tier roles on whatever scope was already locked.

Free Texas-specific tools

NOAA Storm Events Database

URL: ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents

Filter by state = TX, event type = Hail or Thunderstorm Wind. Export CSV. Free, official, comprehensive.

Texas Department of Insurance bulletins

URL: tdi.texas.gov

TDI publishes monthly claim activity data (aggregated by zip, with a 6-12 month lag). Useful for validating which historical events produced real claim volume versus which "looked bad on radar" but didn't damage much.

Texas State Climatologist office

URL: climatexas.tamu.edu

Free historical weather data. Useful for understanding seasonal patterns and longer-term trends.

Paid Texas tools worth considering

HailTrace

Texas is HailTrace's home turf. Their spotter network coverage and reporting lag are best-in-class for DFW and other Texas metros. They quote the contractor tier per territory on a call rather than publishing a rate card, so ask what the coverage for your counties actually costs before you commit.

If you're doing serious storm-chase work in Texas, HailTrace is worth pricing out. The reporting lag versus NOAA's 24-72 hours is meaningful inside the 14-day adjuster window.

Interactive Hail Maps

A cheaper alternative aimed at DFW and the major Texas metros. Smaller spotter network than HailTrace, less granular, and priced below it. Best for shops that need hail data but can't justify HailTrace's pricing.

Roofbird (satellite damage verification)

Disclosure: I write for Roofbird's blog. The tool layers post-storm satellite and street-level imagery analysis on top of hail data, converting "this swath got hit" into "these specific homes show visible damage signatures." You can see how a roof gets scored from imagery before you spend anything.

DFW sample dashboard for a live demo.

Roofbird now goes a step further. Before you scan anything, it tells you which blocks in a storm-hit city are worth your morning — housing era, share of roofs reading worn, real home count from building footprints, hail in the last 12 months, and whether the block is walkable or scattered acreage. That last part matters more than most roofers admit: a block with half-acre lots and long driveways can burn your whole morning for a handful of doors. Search a city and it ranks the neighbourhoods in view; when nothing clears the bar it says so plainly instead of offering you three blocks to skip.

DFW-specific top-impact zips (rolling 24 months)

Based on combined NOAA event frequency, insurance claim density, and detected damage signatures, the DFW zips with the highest sustained storm-impact density:

Tier 1 (storm-chase priority):

• 75150, 75180, 75181 (Mesquite) — repeat impact
• 76016, 76017 (Arlington) — broad hail belt
• 75044 (Garland)
• 75070, 75071 (McKinney south)

Tier 2 (regular impact):

• 75024, 75025 (Plano west)
• 75093 (Plano east)
• 75013, 75002 (Allen)
• 75007 (Carrollton)

Tier 3 (occasional impact, higher-value):

• 75034, 75035 (Frisco)
• 75218, 75214 (Dallas city)

Higher tiers = more frequent events. Higher tiers don't necessarily mean more profitable. Tier 3 zips have higher home values and ticket sizes, just less frequent storm activity.

One caution on any zip-level list, including this one: a zip is not a roof. About one in ten roofs in a typical neighbourhood actually needs work, so a zip that got hammered still has plenty of houses that were re-roofed last spring. Before you knock, check which roofs have actually been seen from the road and which can't be judged — a roof ranked from a nine-year-old aerial while a newer street-level shot of the same house sits unread is how you waste a morning on doors that were done years ago.

A Texas-specific 90-day storm-chase workflow

During active season (March-October):

Daily (5 min):

• NOAA email alert check
• Hail dashboard refresh

Within 24 hours of a significant event:

• Map the swath using your hail service plus NOAA
• Identify the highest-impact zips inside the swath
• Run a scan on those zips (within ~48 hrs once imagery refreshes)

Days 2-4 post-event:

• Filter the scan for visible damage signatures (tarps, missing tabs, hail bruise patterns)
• Build a knock list of 50-150 properties

Days 5-7 post-event:

• Door-knock the top 30-50 properties
• Door-hang the rest
• Schedule inspections with interested homeowners

Days 7-14 post-event:

• Complete inspections
• Help homeowners file legitimate claims
• Prepare scope of work for adjuster visits

Days 14-21 post-event:

• Adjuster visits — your documentation either supports the homeowner's claim or it doesn't
• Sign contracts on approved claims

Days 21-60 post-event:

• Re-canvas neighborhoods — homes that didn't engage initially often come around once neighbors start replacing
• Pull permit data to see which competitors are working the area

Days 60-90 post-event:

• Post-mortem on the event: which signals predicted closes best?
• Adjust the playbook for next event

Storm-chase ethics in Texas (regulatory context)

Texas regulators have gotten stricter on storm-chase practices. Things that are now actionable:

• "No out-of-pocket cost" advertising (banned under HB 2022)
• Encouraging homeowners to file claims for non-damage
• Padding claims with fake or pre-existing damage
• Misrepresenting your relationship with the homeowner's insurance

Things that remain legitimate:

• Identifying damaged homes from satellite imagery or a drive-by
• Educating homeowners on their options
• Preparing a documented scope of work
• Standard roof replacement on real, documented damage

The ethical version of storm-chase isn't slower than the bad version. It's actually faster, because regulators have zero tolerance for the bad version now, and reputation damage from sketchy practices spreads through neighborhood networks fast.

What to do this week (Texas-specific)

If you're a Texas roofer:

1. Set up NOAA email alerts for your service-area counties (free)
2. Price out one hail map service for your counties (HailTrace if the coverage justifies it; IHM if not)
3. Build a Tier 1/2/3 zip priority list for your specific service area
4. Test satellite damage detection on the most recent event in your area
5. Build your 7-day post-event reaction playbook

The next significant hail event in DFW (or wherever you operate in Texas) will probably hit within 45-90 days. The shops that are ready in advance capture the next 30-60 days of work. The shops that scramble end up bidding second on someone else's scope.

Roofbird's DFW sample dashboard shows what post-storm satellite analysis looks like in practice. You can also look at a live scored area without signing up, and pricing is one page with no subscription attached.

FAQ

Q: How does Roofbird handle hail data when ranking leads?

A: Roofbird reads each roof from both top-down and street-level imagery, and assigns two scores: NEED (how badly the roof needs replacing, from condition and roof age) and NOW (whether anything is forcing a decision on that specific house). Neighborhood hail deliberately does not raise the NOW score, because every home in the scan shares it — it belongs in the pitch, not the ranking. What does raise NOW is damage on that specific roof: a tarp, missing shingles, exposed decking, hail damage read on that roof, a purchase in the last 18 months, patching already attempted, or neighbours who have re-roofed. Where a hail event is on record, Roofbird also shows roughly how long the owner has left to file a claim based on the typical state notice deadline. That's an estimate, not a legal deadline — verify with the carrier.

Q: How much does Roofbird cost for storm work in Texas?

A: Looking is free. Searching, sorting and saving lists are free and unlimited, and scanning new ground costs nothing at any size. Acting costs credits: reading a roof properly — both photographs and the property record together — is 1 credit per 8 roofs, and the owner's name, phone and email is 7/8 of a credit a roof, so a read plus the owner comes to about 1 credit a house. Postcards run 3 credits a card for 4x6 or 6x9 and 4 credits for the big 6x11, printing and First-Class postage included. There are no subscriptions. You buy one-off packs when you need them: Starter $49 for 49 credits, Crew $99 for 125, Hunter $199 for 300, Pro $399 for 800, and bought credits never expire.

Q: Do I need to draw a polygon before I can see anything?

A: No. Search the area you work — a town, a suburb, a ZIP, or a street — and Roofbird reads the neighbourhoods in view and ranks them before you draw anything. For each block it reports housing era, the share of roofs reading worn, how many homes are actually there (counted from building footprints, not estimated from area), whether hail has hit in the last 12 months, and how walkable the block is. Click a suggestion and it draws the area for you; you can still drag the corners or draw your own from scratch.

Q: Where do the homeowner's contact details come from, and can I text them?

A: The full property record shows free on every lead as soon as it's scanned — owner name, owner-occupied or absentee, estimated market value, year built, last sale, beds and baths, lot size, taxes, lender, and an owner-equity estimate. Only the phone and email sit behind a one-click unlock. Every number is scrubbed against the federal Do Not Call registry and labelled: "clear" is safe for a manual sales call, "DNC" means don't call it, "verify" means the scrub couldn't confirm either way. Manual dialling only — no texts, no auto-dialler. If you'd rather mail the worn roofs instead of knocking them, Roofbird will do that too, and every call comes back through the card's own scan-to-call code so you can see what a campaign actually produced.

— Jake