After the August 11 Derecho: Getting Your Home Checked Before Winter

I was here. I live in Crown Point, and on the morning of August 11, I watched the sky do something I had never seen in my life. The wind hit, and it did not stop. Trees snapped. Shingles flew. Power was out for days in some neighborhoods. When it was over, the National Weather Service confirmed what we all felt: a derecho had torn through Northwest Indiana with wind gusts up to 99 mph recorded at Gary/Chicago International Airport, and an EF-2 tornado had tracked from Monee, Illinois, straight through Crown Point.

I have spent the weeks since that storm walking roofs and siding across Lake and Porter Counties, and I want to tell you what I keep finding, because most of it is not visible from the ground. If you are waiting for a leak to show up before you get checked, you are waiting too long. Winter is coming, and Indiana winter does not forgive hidden damage.

What the August 11 storm actually did

According to the NOAA National Weather Service, the August 11 derecho produced:

• Widespread 70 to locally 100+ mph straight-line winds across northeastern Illinois into northwestern Indiana.
• A peak gust of 99 mph at Gary/Chicago International Airport.
• 8 confirmed tornadoes in the NWS Chicago forecast area, including an EF-2 that tracked from Monee, Illinois, through Crown Point, Indiana, and an EF-1 that tracked from Orland Park, Illinois, into Hammond, Indiana.
• Wind gusts up to 75 mph in LaPorte, Starke, Marshall, and St. Joseph Counties per the NWS Northern Indiana office, with flash flooding from repeated heavy rainfall.

If your home is in Lake or Porter County, it was in the path. That is not a sales line. That is what the wind data says.

What 99 mph wind does to a roof you cannot see

Here is the part that surprises people. A roof can look perfectly fine from the curb and still be damaged in ways that will fail this winter. Wind that strong does four things that are hard to spot without getting up there:

• It breaks the seal strip on asphalt shingles. Every asphalt shingle has a factory adhesive strip that bonds one course to the next. Sustained high winds can break that bond. The shingle stays in place, but the edge is now lifted. Once the seal is broken, wind and water get underneath on every future storm.
• It creases and cracks shingle tabs. When a shingle lifts in high wind and snaps back down, it folds at the same crease point. That crease becomes a crack. The crack becomes a leak path. You will not see it from the ground.
• It lifts and damages flashing. The metal flashing around your chimney, vents, skylights, and valleys is what keeps water out at the joints. High wind can lift, bend, or separate flashing, creating entry points that only show up when rain or melting snow hits the right angle.
• It stresses gutter fasteners and fascia. Gutters take a beating in wind events. Hangers loosen, seams separate, and sections pull away from the fascia board. Once the gutter sags, water runs behind it instead of through the downspout, and the fascia starts to rot.

If any of that happened on August 11, your roof is not necessarily leaking today. But the damage is there, waiting for the right conditions. And the right conditions arrive every winter in Indiana.

Why winter makes hidden storm damage worse

This is the part I need you to hear. If your roof took wind damage on August 11 and you do nothing, here is what happens between November and February:

1. The first snow falls on a compromised roof. Snow accumulates on shingles with broken seals and lifted edges. It melts from underneath as attic heat rises, and the water has nowhere to go because the shingle that should channel it down is now lifted or cracked.
2. Freeze-thaw cycles pry cracks wider. Indiana winters cycle above and below freezing repeatedly. Water gets into a crack, freezes overnight (ice expands), and widens the crack. It thaws during the day, gets deeper, freezes again. Every cycle makes the damage worse.
3. Ice dams form at the eaves. Snow melts from the warm part of the roof, runs down to the cold eave, and refreezes. That ice backs water up under the shingles. If your shingles are already lifted or creased from the derecho, that water has a direct path to your decking and eventually your ceiling.
4. You find out in January, not August. The first sign is usually a ceiling stain or a drip during a thaw. By then, the damage has been progressing for months, the repair is more expensive, and you are competing with every other homeowner who also waited.

I have seen this play out too many times. The homeowner who gets checked in September pays for a targeted repair. The homeowner who waits until January pays for a full replacement plus interior damage. The difference is often thousands of dollars and a winter of stress.

What to check yourself (safely, from the ground)

I am not going to tell you to climb on your roof. Do not do that. But there are things you can look for from the ground that tell you it is time to call someone:

• Shingle granules in your gutters or at the base of your downspouts. If you see a pile of dark, sandy material where the downspout discharges, your shingles are losing their protective surface. That is wear or impact damage.
• Curling, lifting, or missing shingle tabs. Even one missing tab means the seal is broken in that area. If you see tabs that look bent or lifted at the edge, the wind got them.
• Dented or loose gutters. Walk around your house and look up at the gutters. Are they sagging between hangers? Are there gaps at the seams? Is the front edge dented or wavy? That is wind and debris impact.
• Cracked, loose, or missing siding panels. Vinyl siding cracks under impact. Fiber-cement can crack or pull loose at the fastening points. Look for panels that look wavy, gaps between courses, or pieces sitting at an angle.
• Interior signs. Water stains on ceilings or walls, musty smells in the attic, or daylight visible through roof boards from inside the attic. Any of these means water has already found a way in.

If you see any of those, do not wait. Schedule a free assessment and let someone who knows what to look at get up there with a camera.

What a professional storm damage assessment includes

When I come to your home after a storm, here is what I actually do:

• Photo-documented inspection of the roof, siding, gutters, and flashing. Every photo is yours. You get a copy. I want you to see exactly what I see, not take my word for it.
• Assessment of whether the damage meets the threshold for an insurance claim. Not every storm warrants a claim. If the damage is below your deductible, filing only hurts your loss history. I will tell you that honestly.
• A written construction estimate. If the damage warrants it, you get a clear scope of work with materials, labor, and timeline. This is the documentation you submit to your insurance carrier if you decide to file.
• An honest recommendation. If a targeted repair solves the problem and the rest of the roof is sound, I will tell you to repair it. If the shingles are past their service life or the damage is too widespread, I will tell you replacement is the better call. I will not push you toward the more expensive option if it is not the right one.

Insurance and storm damage: what we do and do not do

What we can do: provide the documentation, the photos, the measurements, and a construction estimate that gives your carrier what it needs to make a coverage decision. We can attend the adjuster inspection on-site so nothing gets missed. What we cannot do: tell you whether your claim will be approved, interpret your policy, negotiate your settlement, or waive your deductible. Your deductible is your responsibility under your policy and Indiana law. Any contractor who offers to waive or absorb your deductible can create serious insurance and legal problems. Walk away from that.

For the full step-by-step process of filing after a storm, see our hail damage insurance claim guide. The process applies to wind damage too.

If you are in Crown Point, I am your neighbor

I grew up in Northwest Indiana. I live in Crown Point. My family and my business are here. When the derecho hit, it hit my community. I have spent the weeks since walking roofs in neighborhoods I know, helping people I see at the grocery store figure out what their homes need before winter.

I did not build this company to chase storms. I built it because I know what it feels like to need help and not know who to trust. I grew up with a single mom who worked harder than most people ever saw, and there were times we relied on the kindness of neighbors. That is why we do free assessments. That is why we photograph everything. That is why we tell you honestly whether you need a repair or a replacement, even when the replacement pays us more.

If the August 11 storm went through your neighborhood, do not wait for the first freeze to find out what it did to your home. Schedule a free assessment or call me at (219) 209-2433. I will come look, I will show you the photos, and I will tell you the truth about what I find.

- Angelo J. Saia
Founder & Sole Owner, Saia & Sons Restoration, LLC