What the October 2021 Windstorm Meant for Roofs in Hillsboro

What does the report actually say?

That trees and power lines came down across the Northwest, and that the outages peaked at about 25,000 customers in Portland and north-west Oregon.

The report is a regional news summary and records the outage count at its peak. It describes the wind's effect on the grid and the trees, and it does not describe roofs.

That is the honest limit of the record. A homeowner who reads it learns that the wind was strong enough to bring trees and lines down, not what it did to any roof.

Why is no roof figure given?

Because the sources searched for this site did not find one for Washington County, and a figure that is not sourced would mislead the reader.

A guide that filled the gap with an estimate would be publishing a number that no one has checked. This guide does not do that. It says the gap is there.

If a roof-damage figure is later published by a named authority, it can be added, with its source.

What should a homeowner check after a windstorm like this?

The ridge, the covering on the windward slopes, the flashing, the gutters and the attic, recorded from the ground and then by a roofer.

Look for lifted tabs, a ridge that has moved, flashing bent at a wall and gutters pulled from the fascia. Photograph each finding with the date.

Check the attic from the hatch for daylight, wet insulation and staining, and note any finding.

• The ridge and windward covering
• The flashing and the gutters
• The attic from the hatch

What about a claim?

The policy and the insurer decide any claim. The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation takes insurance complaints, and the homeowner's record is the evidence.

Keep the dated photographs and the roofer's written inspection with the policy papers. An insurer will look for a link between the damage and the event, and the record is what makes that link.

Ask the insurer, in writing, for each requirement it sets for the claim.

• Dated photographs kept with the policy
• The roofer's written inspection
• Requirements asked of the insurer in writing

What the region's outage figures can and cannot tell a homeowner

Outage figures show how much of the grid the wind reached. They do not show the state of any roof, and a homeowner should not read them as a damage figure.

An outage is caused by trees and lines that come down, and those can fall on a house without the roof being touched. A high outage count tells a homeowner the wind was strong, and nothing more.

The only reliable figure for a roof is the one from its own inspection. A record that states the roof's condition on a stated day is worth more than any regional count.

• Outages show the wind's reach on the grid
• Trees and lines can fall without touching a roof
• The roof's own inspection is the figure that counts

How to read a regional news report for roof information

Check what the report says about roofs. A report that describes trees and lines is not a roof report, even when it is about a storm.

A regional report can be useful for the date and the scale of an event. Its roof content, if any, should be stated plainly in the report, with the area it covers. Where a report says nothing about roofs, the homeowner should not supply the missing detail from the outage numbers.

• Check the date and scale
• Look for a roof statement with its area
• Do not fill gaps from outage counts

What a homeowner should record for a future event

The date, the wind seen, the first sign of damage, the roof photographs and the inspection result, kept together.

A future windstorm record is best made the same way each time. The homeowner notes the date and the wind, photographs the roof from the ground, checks the attic from the hatch and books the roofer's inspection. The record grows with each event, and a later claim or repair has a history to draw on.

• Date and the wind noted
• Roof photographed from the ground
• Attic checked and the inspection booked

How a homeowner can judge a roofer's account of the storm

By asking for the roofer's findings in the terms of the roof, not in the terms of the news, and by checking any claim about the storm against the record.

A roofer who says the 2021 windstorm damaged a roof should be able to say which part of the roof shows it, and why that part and not the others. A roofer who relies on the outage figures alone has not looked at the roof. Ask for the findings on the roof and check any claim about the storm against the record for the date.

• Ask for findings in terms of the roof
• Check storm claims against the record
• Do not accept outage figures as roof evidence

What the sources do not establish

They do not establish a roof-damage figure for Washington County, a count of roofs affected or the cost of any repair.

The sources recorded for this site give the outage figures and the storm's reach on the grid. They do not give a count of roofs affected, a damage figure or a cost for repairs. This guide does not supply those, and it does not invent them. Where a figure is needed, the homeowner's own inspection is the source.

• No county roof-damage figure is given
• No count of roofs affected is given
• No repair cost is given

Keeping a windstorm file for the next event

Keep the dated photographs, the inspection and the list of open items in one place, so the next event is compared with this one.

A windstorm file that is kept from one event to the next makes each new event easier to read. The homeowner adds the new date, the new photographs and the new findings, and the earlier entries show what was already there. That comparison is what an insurer and a roofer find most useful.

• One file for all windstorms
• Each event added with its date
• Earlier findings shown beside new ones

Keeping a note of trees near the roof

Note any tree whose limb or trunk is close to the roof, and any tree that has been damaged, because a windstorm can bring its limbs onto the covering.

Trees near a roof are the source of much storm damage. A limb that falls onto the roof can crack shingles, bend flashing and tear the gutter. The homeowner notes such trees on the roof plan, so the next windstorm is checked where the risk is.

• Trees near the roof noted on the plan
• Damaged trees noted
• The next windstorm checked where the risk is

What a homeowner can say to a neighbour about the storm

That the record gives outage figures and not roof damage, and that each roof is checked on its own.

A neighbour who asks whether the 2021 storm wrecked the street can be told plainly what the record says. It gives outages and tree and line damage. It does not give roof damage, and each roof is checked on its own. That answer is accurate and avoids a rumour turning into a claim.

• The record gives outages, not roof damage
• Each roof is checked on its own
• An accurate answer avoids rumour

Using the record in a dispute with a roofer

Compare the roofer's claim with the record and the roof, and ask for the findings in writing.

If a roofer says a 2021 storm caused a repair, the homeowner asks which part of the roof shows the storm, and checks the claim against the record for the date and the inspection. A claim that the record cannot support should be put to the roofer in writing, with a request for the basis.

• Ask which part of the roof shows the storm
• Check the claim against the record
• Put any unsupported claim to the roofer in writing