DFW Hail Storm Map 2026: What Homeowners Should Document This Week

TL;DR: DFW hail season is May to September. The two weeks BEFORE a storm hits are when homeowners gain the most leverage on insurance claims by documenting their roof's pre-storm condition. This post walks through the 6 photos every Keller, Fort Worth, and Southlake homeowner should take this weekend, the four 2025-2026 hail dates that are still being claim-denied for lack of documentation, and the exact NWS data sources we use to pre-stage tarp inventory at our shop.

The 2024 Hurst hailstorm dropped golf-ball-sized hail across the eastern DFW Metroplex on April 27. We had crews tarping homes within 4 hours and filing 31 insurance claims that week. Of those 31, the four claims that were eventually partially denied all had the same problem: no pre-storm condition photos. The adjusters classified pre-existing wear as not storm-damaged, and the homeowners had no proof otherwise.

Here's how to make sure that doesn't happen to you in 2026.

What the 2026 hail season looks like so far

The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center has graded this May at above average risk for severe hail in North Texas, driven by an unusual mid-April cold front pattern stalling moisture over the Edwards Plateau. As of May 14, 2026, the DFW Metroplex has already seen three hail-producing storms: April 18, 2026 (quarter-sized hail in southern Tarrant County including Burleson, Crowley, southwest Fort Worth); May 1, 2026 (1.5-inch hail in Denton County including Argyle, Lantana, Justin, Roanoke corridor); and May 9, 2026 (golf-ball-sized hail in northern Tarrant and Denton including Keller, Southlake, Trophy Club, Westlake).

If you live in any of those zip codes and your roof is older than 8 years, insurance claim adjusters are actively scheduling site visits over the next 3 weeks. Documentation taken now will affect the outcome.

3:16 Roofing has run roof inspections on 47 properties from these three storms in the past 14 days. 39 of them showed claimable damage that the homeowner hadn't noticed from the ground.

The 6 Photos Every DFW Homeowner Should Take This Weekend

You don't need a drone or a roofer for this. A standard smartphone camera works fine. Take all six photos during midday (10 AM to 2 PM), when shadows are minimal and shingle granules show clearly.

Photo 1: Front elevation of your house with all four corners of the roof visible. Stand across the street and capture the entire roof in one frame. This becomes the before anchor for any future claim.

Photo 2: Each side of the house, including the gutters. Walk around the perimeter and capture each of the four sides separately. Gutter dings, shingle bruises, or downspout dents count as collateral storm evidence.

Photo 3: Close-ups of any visible roof damage from ground level. Use your phone's zoom to look for missing shingles, lifted edges, or granule loss in valleys.

Photo 4: HVAC unit, ridge vents, and any rooftop accessories you can see from the ground. Hail damage to AC condenser fins is one of the easiest claim wins because it's purely cosmetic but expensive to repair.

Photo 5: Skylights, solar panels, satellite dishes — anything penetrating the roof. Hail loves to crack skylight glass and pit solar panel surfaces.

Photo 6: Any windows or window screens facing the most likely storm direction. North-facing windows in DFW take the brunt of most storms.

Save all 6 to a dedicated album titled Roof Documentation 2026-05 on your phone. If a storm hits in the next 60 days, you'll have the comparison set ready.

Free Roof Inspection vs DIY Documentation

Documenting your own roof from the ground gets you about 70% of the way to a strong claim. The other 30% requires getting up on the roof itself, which is genuinely dangerous for most homeowners.

3:16 Roofing offers a free 30-minute drone-assisted roof inspection for any DFW homeowner this season. We deliver a 14-photo PDF report (timestamped, geotagged, branded) by email within 48 hours. We don't charge unless you eventually file a claim and choose us as your contractor. If your roof is fine, we tell you it's fine.

What you get from the drone inspection that you can't get from your phone: top-down photos of every roof plane (most homeowners can't see the back side of their roof from the ground), granule-loss measurement on valleys and field shingles, ridge cap condition (where most age-related damage starts), flashing condition around chimneys, vents, and skylights, and a written report adjusters accept as third-party documentation.

We've run 4,000+ roofs in DFW since 2017. The drone inspection is genuinely the easiest way to find out if you have a claim.

Schedule your free roof inspection: visit https://www.316roofingtx.com/contact-us or call (817) 402-7663.

Bottom Line

The 6 photos this weekend cost you 15 minutes. They potentially save you tens of thousands on an insurance claim later this year. If you live in Keller, Fort Worth, Southlake, Colleyville, Roanoke, Argyle, Trophy Club, Justin, Hurst, Bedford, Euless, or anywhere in the 50-mile radius of Keller, this is the cheapest insurance you'll buy all year.

If you'd rather skip the DIY and have us handle the inspection, we're a one-click form away.

Marcos Garza, Founder

3:16 Roofing and Construction LLC

RCAT #03-0246 | BBB A+ | FORTIFIED Certified

(817) 402-7663