Like sharks shadowing a watery blood trail, they sought prey in neighborhoods across Lake County. These trackers weren’t foraging for fish.
Their quarry was wind and hail damage.
After the squalls that blew through two weeks ago, leaving behind downed trees from wind damage, power outages in some areas and widespread hard hail, the storm-chasing sales folks were out in force.
There were dozens of door-to-door nomads canvassing one neighborhood, flyers mailed to homeowners and dozens of calls, after calls, after calls, which the iPhone labeled either “potential spam” or “junk.” No voicemails were left behind.
We get that roofing, siding and gutter companies need to make hay while the sun shines, or in this case when the hail hits. But being inundated is something entirely different.
The companies inspecting one Lake County neighborhood came from as far away as Elgin. These claims specialists were at least polite when it was determined no roof damage was done by nickel-sized, quarter-sized or half-dollar-sized hail.
Vehicles were a different story with dimples abounding on hoods of Detroit iron when those ice-covered balls came down in sheets. Or were they golf ball-sized, softball-sized or Clincher-sized hail? Some said they saw hailstones the size of apples.
From the cadre of claims guys ringing the front doorbell, one learns that hail damage occurs when ice pellets strike with intensity. Ice particles form in storm updrafts, freeze and refreeze until gravity causes them to eventually drop to Earth and hit structures.
The severity of the damage depends on various factors, including the size of the hailstones and the momentum with which they hit. Hail damage, they say, can lead to issues like roof leaks and structural problems.
Thousands of hailstorms happen across the nation annually. Hailstones are a significant cause of property damage.
“Hail and wind damage is subtle in nature and the apex of the damage may not be revealed until years after the storm,” one company’s literature said. They pointed out that roof shingles can cause “accelerated granular loss,” which deteriorates their performance over time.
Hailstones can also cause punctures, tears, fractures, bruises and the more common displacement of granules, which can expose asphalt shingles to the sun’s rays and ultraviolet degradation. An inch-sized hailstone can cause a roof leak.
Since the specialists stopped by, I’ve learned a lot about roofs and what storm damage can do. According to one roof inspector, I’ve also learned the insurance company insuring the mid-century modern homestead is not neighborly when it comes to hail claims. Apparently, the “adjusters” claim it is tight with the cash when it comes to paying out for roof damage.
The supercell storms that hit the region on May 15 formed after a cold front collided with Gulf moisture and fueled atmospheric instability, with temperatures soaring into the 90s. The folks at the National Weather Service were spot-on when they predicted hail over two inches in diameter, accompanied by strong wind gusts and possible tornadoes.
Scientists say we will see these intense winds and thunderstorms more frequently as climate change continues to impact our lives in numerous ways. Our use of fossil fuels is the major cause of climate change, they maintain.
From 1980 to 2024, there were nine weather/climate disasters, on average, annually that caused more than $1 billion in losses, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s database. Yet, from 2020 to 2024, the annual average number of disasters that caused more than $1 billion in losses increased to an average of 23 disasters.
With more possibilities of damage to one’s property, insurance companies will raise their premium rates to pay for the increasing number of claims. That’s what a quartet of consumer groups contended last week.
The Consumer Federation of America, Americans for Financial Reform, Public Citizen and U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) called on the nation’s insurance firms to stop underwriting oil and gas projects, along with investing in fossil-fuel companies. The groups say backing fossil-fuel companies causes consumers’ insurance premiums to grow annually.
The CFA estimates that Americans saw homeowners’ insurance premiums rise by about 24% from 2021 to 2024, due in part to the increasing property risk associated with the stronger and more frequent weather-related catastrophes driven by climate change.
That includes hailstorms, which impact us and bring out the roofing, siding and gutter companies hoping to repair the damage caused by a natural disaster.
Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor.
sellenews@gmail.com
X: @sellenews
