The recent outbreak of severe weather that crossed a large swath of the country reaching from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico on April 4 was responsible for more than 200 tornado reports, large hail, and hurricane force winds.
According to CoreLogic’s Weather Verification System the storms damaged about 578,900 homes; the worst of the large hail fell in swaths across Iowa and Illinois. In Iowa, three-inch hail was recorded in Clarke County, south of Des Moines. Scott County, which includes the city of Davenport, recorded two and three-quarter-inch hail. In Illinois, three-inch hail fell in Fulton County, which is west-southwest of Peoria. Hail ranging in size from two-to-two and a quarter inches in diameter was recorded in DuPage and Kane Counties, both of which are west of Chicago.
All-in-all, CoreLogic believes that the total value of properties damaged, both single- and multi-family properties—comes to $202.5 billion.
But building materials matter when it comes to hail damage: generally a hailstorm damages roofs, walls, and portals such as windows and skylights. According to one study, asphalt shingles can withstand damage from hailstones of up to one inch, making it a less resistant material compared to composite or concrete tiles, which can withstand damage from hail up to two inches. Additionally, roofs can be rated for impact resistance on a scale of one to four, with higher numbers indicating that a roof is more resistant to hail-related damage.
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