Houston roofing after Allison, Harvey, Beryl and the 2024 derecho

Is your address in the windstorm program?

In Harris County, TDI's program reaches only the cities east of State Highway 146: La Porte, Morgan's Point, Pasadena, Seabrook and Shore Acres. Neither Fort Bend nor Montgomery County appears on TDI's WPI-8 county list. For everyone else, TDI says inland homeowners probably have wind and hail coverage in their homeowners policy, sometimes with a separate windstorm deductible.

What every Houston re-roof does need is a permit. The Houston Permitting Center's residential roofing permit covers a re-roof or a roofing overlay, requires plan review and an inspection, stays valid for six months, and must be kept on site until final approval. Ask your roofer to show it to you before tear-off.

The flood storms: Allison and Harvey

Tropical Storm Allison in June 2001 produced what the National Hurricane Center calls catastrophic floods in the Houston area; the report cites FEMA and state estimates of about $4.8 billion in damage in the Houston metropolitan area alone. Hurricane Harvey in 2017 was deadlier: NHC counts 36 direct deaths in Harris County, and NOAA's entry for the county describes catastrophic flooding on nearly every one of its 22 watersheds (NCEI event 720861). Two years later, Imelda's rain sent water into homes in the Kingwood and Huffman areas (NCEI event 858108).

The wind storms: Ike, the derecho and Beryl

• Hurricane Ike, September 2008: NOAA's Fort Bend entry says an estimated 200 roofs were damaged, with the eastern part of the county hit hardest (NCEI event 136503), and Montgomery County recorded hurricane-force gusts (NCEI event 136437). FEMA's DR-1791 covers all three counties.
• The May 16, 2024 derecho: thunderstorm winds estimated at 90 knots downed large transmission lines near Cypress (NCEI event 1188414). The damage total NOAA files under a Katy report, $70 million, covers all of Harris County and the City of Houston (NCEI event 1188074). FEMA's DR-4781, declared May 17, 2024, includes Harris and Montgomery counties.
• Hurricane Beryl, July 8, 2024: NHC places hurricane conditions from the Matagorda landfall area northeast to parts of Galveston Island, with tropical-storm conditions elsewhere on the coast. FEMA's DR-4798 includes Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery.

Tornadoes and hail

NOAA's Storm Events Database logs 33 tornadoes in Harris County from 2016 through 2025, 31 of them rated EF0 or EF1, along with 176 thunderstorm wind events and 119 hail events of an inch or more. The strongest was the EF3 of January 24, 2023, which touched down near El Franco Lee Park and tracked across southeast Houston, Pasadena, Deer Park and Baytown (NCEI event 1075141). On December 28, 2024, an EF3 in Montgomery County removed the roof of a brick home along FM 1485 and injured ten people (NCEI event 1224046).

The largest Harris County hailstones in the 2016 to 2025 window measured 2.5 inches, including tennis-ball hail in Bellaire on January 8, 2016 (NCEI event 608045). In Fort Bend, tennis-ball hail damaged homes across Needville on March 16, 2024 (NCEI event 1158845).

What the record means for your roof decision

For a roof, Houston's record is mostly a wind record: the database attaches $76.2 million in thunderstorm wind damage to Harris County from 2016 through 2025, against $42,000 for hail. So start with the wind terms. TDI suggests asking your agent whether your wind and hail deductible is different from the rest of the policy. For shingle roofs, TDI's storm repair guidance recommends products tested to ASTM D 3161 Class F or ASTM D 7158 Class H, with compliance marked on the wrapper. The National Roofing Directory's walk-through of the roof insurance claim process covers what happens after a storm.

Roofers in the Houston area

The National Roofing Directory lists roofers by city for Houston, Katy, Sugar Land, Pearland and The Woodlands.

For more names, see Houston roofers, Katy roofers and roofers in The Woodlands.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a permit to re-roof a house in Houston?

Yes. The Houston Permitting Center lists a residential roofing permit for a re-roof or roofing overlay, with plan review and an inspection required. The permit stays valid for six months.

Is my Houston home eligible for TWIA?

Only if it sits in the designated catastrophe area. In Harris County that means east of State Highway 146 within La Porte, Morgan's Point, Pasadena, Seabrook or Shore Acres, according to TDI. Most Houston homes carry wind and hail coverage through a regular homeowners policy instead.

What was the May 16, 2024 storm in Houston?

NOAA's records describe it as a derecho, with thunderstorm winds estimated at 90 knots near Cypress (NCEI event 1188414). FEMA later declared a major disaster, DR-4781, that includes Harris County.