Recorded events
Hail and wind recorded near Brea
Hail is not common here, which is exactly why the days it has happened are worth writing down. Within ten miles of Brea, on two days: 19 March 2024 and 5 October 2021.
What is going on with the roof?
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Your request is in.
We are matching it now against roofing contractors working in Brea and the surrounding area.
- Today, usually within the hour. The first contractor calls or texts the number you gave us. ASAP requests go out first.
- Up to three of them, no more. We cap it at three so you can compare without your phone melting.
- They come and look. Estimates are given after somebody has been on the roof, not over the phone.
- You decide, or you do not. There is nothing to cancel and nothing to pay us.
If you do not hear anything today, check your voicemail and spam folder — contractors often call from a mobile number.
The hail record
The most recent detection was on 19 March 2024, about 2 years ago. Radar sized the largest stone in that cell at about 0.5 inches, small, and unlikely on its own to have marked a sound roof. The nearest cell passed within about 1.8 miles of the centre of Brea.
| Date | Largest stone sized by radar | Nearest cell | Cells that day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 March 2024 | 0.5 in | 1.8 mi | 7 |
| 5 October 2021 | 0.75 in | 6.6 mi | 5 |
Wind
Over 5 years of daily records at this location, the highest modelled gust was about 50 mph, below the 58 mph severe threshold but well into the range that finds anything already lifted or loose. There were 12 days above 39 mph and 3 above 45 mph in that period, concentrated in January, February, and November.
| Date | Peak gust |
|---|---|
| 18 February 2026 | 41 mph |
| 6 November 2024 | 44 mph |
| 21 March 2023 | 40 mph |
| 25 February 2023 | 46 mph |
| 10 January 2023 | 41 mph |
| 8 November 2022 | 45 mph |
| 9 September 2022 | 41 mph |
| 14 December 2021 | 50 mph |
What to look at after a storm
What landed on it
A branch across the roof does damage twice: once on impact and once by sitting there holding water against the covering. Get it off, photograph where it was, and look at what is underneath before deciding it was nothing.
What the street is doing
If several roofs on the street are being worked on and yours is the same age and the same covering, that is a reason to have yours looked at. It is not a reason to assume you have damage, and a contractor who tells you the whole street is getting a new roof paid for by insurance is telling you something about themselves.
The ridge and the edges
Ridge caps sitting proud, a line of shingles along the rake that no longer lies flat, a lifted starter course at the eave: these are wind signatures, and each one is an opening for the next storm rather than a cosmetic complaint.
Granules where they should not be
Look in the splash blocks and at the base of the downspouts. Granule loss concentrated in one area, rather than spread evenly, is the pattern that points at impact rather than at age.
The soft metal, first
Start with the parts that bruise easily: gutter faces, downspouts, vent hoods, the aluminium trim. They are the network of soft targets around the roof, and they record a hail event more legibly than the shingles do. Clean metal is meaningful evidence.
Reporting, and the clock on it
The reporting deadline in a policy runs from the date of the loss. Damage found late is denied on that basis more often than on any argument about the damage itself, and the dates above exist precisely so that a date is available when one is needed.
What it does not mean is that a nearby storm implies damage on your roof. Two houses on one street come out of the same night in completely different condition.
How a roof insurance claim actually works, step by step
Sources, and what they can and cannot tell you
Hail detections come from NOAA NCEI’s Severe Weather Data Inventory (NEXRAD product nx3hail) within 10 miles of Brea. Radar sizes hail in a storm cell; it does not observe what landed on any particular roof. Gust figures are daily maxima from the ERA5 reanalysis archive at this city’s coordinates, which is a model of the weather rather than a reading from an instrument in the neighbourhood. Both are useful for dates and for scale, and neither is evidence about your roof. Last refreshed 2026-08-31.
Storm damage questions
Where do the storm dates on this site come from?
Hail comes from NOAA’s Severe Weather Data Inventory — radar detections of hail-bearing storm cells within ten miles of Brea, with an estimated stone size. Wind comes from the ERA5 reanalysis archive as a daily maximum gust at this city’s coordinates. Both are useful for dates and scale. Neither is an observation of your roof, and we do not present them as one.
There was a storm near me. Do I have damage?
There is no way to know from the weather record, and this site does not claim otherwise. Two houses on one street come out of the same night in completely different condition. What a nearby storm gives you is a date and a reason to look — starting with the gutters and vent caps, which dent before shingles mark.
How long do I have to report storm damage?
Less time than most people assume, and the clock runs from the date of the event rather than from the day you noticed. Policies require prompt notice and set an outer limit on reporting. That is the single most common reason late-discovered damage is denied, and it is why knowing the date of the storm matters.