Is Your Roof Built for Minnesota Weather?

Is Your Roof Built for Minnesota Weather?

PART ONEAn Overview

Extreme weather events are not at all unusual in Minnesota. Even before the polar vortex struck last winter, for instance, the Gopher State already bore witness to a severe wind and hail outbreak—one that was rightfully listed by Weather Underground as one of the top eight billion-dollar weather disasters to hit the country. That particular weather event, which lasted from August 5 to 7 last year, cost $1.25 billion in damages across the Great Plains and the Midwest.

Is Your Roof Built for Minnesota Weather?

What causes severe weather in Minnesota?

For the most part, Minnesota experiences such extreme weather because it is landlocked. It sits close to the northern limits of Tornado Alley, but surprisingly registers more tornadoes than the states that are dead set in the middle of that region.

What can you do about it?

There’s really nothing we Minnesotans can do about the weather up here, but that doesn’t mean you should just sit back and watch as Nature does her worst. A passing knowledge of what exactly is going on will not only help you during an extreme weather event but also equip you with the information you need to prepare for it well in advance.

So, on to some basics.

Let’s touch on downbursts and derechos, two types of weather events to which the state is particularly vulnerable.

A downburst is a concentration of strong wind that forms over an area as the result of a convective downdraft. It usually lasts several minutes and spans 4 to 6 miles horizontally.

Downbursts begin with air cooled rapidly within thunderstorm clouds. Cool air is denser, so it drops to the ground. In the case of a downburst, the sinking air hits the ground with a lot of force and spreads out in all directions. That alone is destructive enough, but in extreme cases, downbursts can further lead to a derecho.

An Overview

A downburst

Is Your Roof Built for Minnesota Weather?

According to the Storm Prediction Center, a derecho is capable of producing damaging winds along an area of at least 240 miles. While mostly a wind event, derechos are associated with thunderstorms or rain showers that are bowed or curved in shape.

In July, a derecho tore through northern Minnesota at speeds close to 50 mph. It blew down trees and damaged boats, docks, and homes. At the time, Minnesota had already been visited by 20 tornadoes.

This just shows that while weather all over the country can be unpredictable, it can quickly go from bad to worse right where you live. We stress this not for the sake of fruitless fearmongering but rather to emphasize the need for preparation.

Because in a state where extreme weather events aren’t unheard of, there’s no such thing as being overly prepared.

A shelf cloud along the leading edge of a derecho photographed in Minnesota

An Overview

Composite radar image of the June 2012 North American derecho (a progressive derecho) as it moved from Indiana to Virginia

Is Your Roof Built for Minnesota Weather?

PART TWOWhat You Can’t

See Can Hurt You

If you watch the news, you already have a general idea of what extreme weather events can do. Even if you’ve never experienced a direct hit in your lifetime (and we hope you never do!), you

know that damage will be extensive.

Is Your Roof Built for Minnesota Weather?

This is why, in the midst of their concern for other communities, it’s not unusual for Minnesotans to feel a huge wave of relief if a storm just misses them. And with repair and recovery efforts focused on the most hard-hit neighborhoods, it’s easy for property owners to overlook the damage that may have resulted right in their own backyards.

That is a big mistake.

While the full extent of the damage dealt to your community by an extreme weather event may be nothing in comparison to that in other areas, this is no guarantee that your home was left completely untouched. You just might not be seeing the signs.

Take your roof, for example.

Because it’s so high up, you can’t always see what’s happening to it. If you’re a particularly diligent homeowner, you’ve probably already subscribed to a roof maintenance program and in consequence won’t have to deal with this problem. Congratulations! Keep up the good work.

But if your home maintenance outlook is a bit more relaxed, roof damage may have already sneaked up on you without your knowledge. And once your roof reaches its limit, you’ll be in big trouble.

What You Can’t See Can Hurt You

Is Your Roof Built for Minnesota Weather?

What, then, should you do?

To protect your home and household from extreme Minnesota weather, you need to be vigilant. Any time there’s even the slightest possibility of damage, don’t take your chances. Have your roof checked.

Notice that we say “have it checked” rather than “check it yourself”. This is because while anyone can safely do a visual inspection from ground level (with or without the help of binoculars), the only real way to do a thorough check for damage is to go up a roof. And that is always risky.

Checking for damage is necessary. But going at it yourself when there is literally no guarantee that you can do a safe and thorough job is a bad idea. For best results, have a professional do the checking for you.

Did you know that every year, more than 164,000 visits to emergency rooms in the

U.S. are for ladder-related injuries? And that deaths due to falls from ladders have tripled

in number over the last decade?

What You Can’t See Can Hurt You

Is Your Roof Built for Minnesota Weather?

PART THREEThe Role of a Roofing

Professional

Is Your Roof Built for Minnesota Weather?

So you called a contractor for a post-storm inspection, had your roof fixed, and settled the bill. Congratulations!

Having a professional whose business it is to know roofs see to the welfare of yours is half the battle. These contractors have invested time and money into understanding how roofs tick, so if you suspect that you have a roofing problem and want things done fast and done right, you won’t find a better ally.

Are you there, roofing guy? It’s me, Margaret.

While fast action is all well and good, calling your roofing contractor only when you suspect you have a problem isn’t such a good idea. At the end of the day, proactive roof maintenance will always trump reactive roof maintenance.

How come?

The logic behind proactive or preventive roof maintenance is that by the time most roofing problems manifest, damage has already become extensive—in some cases extensive enough to put repairs completely out of the question. Acting proactively will allow you and your contractor to catch problems while they are still small and therefore easier and cheaper to fix.

The Role of a Roofing Professional

Is Your Roof Built for Minnesota Weather?

Proactive roofing is all the more important here in Minnesota, where we get a lot of hail and wind storms in spring and summer. Hail is an excellent example of a weather event that causes damage that can’t easily be seen by the untrained eye. Without proactive roof maintenance, what would’ve just required simple shingle replacement could turn into a full-blown roof replacement.

Again, what should you do?

Now is as good a time as any to get your roof checked. Having a contractor inspect your roof and do minor repairs will cost you anywhere from nothing (talk about a good deal!) a few hundred dollars. Ignore the possibility of damage long enough and a roof replacement will cost you anywhere from $18,000 to $34,000+.

Safety. Peace of mind. Big savings. Sound good?

The Role of a Roofing Professional

Is Your Roof Built for Minnesota Weather?

ADVANCED ROOFING & SIDING INC.20470 IVYWOOD ST NW Oak Grove, Minnesota 55011

(763) 427-3093www.AdvancedRoofingMN.com