How to Prepare Your Roof for Summer Storms: A UK Homeowner’s Checklist

Summer storms catch a lot of UK homeowners off guard. We tend to associate roof damage with winter gales, but the convective storms that build over the warmer months bring their own problems: sudden gusts, intense downpours that overwhelm gutters in minutes, and hail that can crack older tiles. Because the damage arrives fast, the roofs that come through best are usually the ones that were already in good shape before the first storm hit.

The good news is that most storm damage is preventable. A roof rarely fails on a sound, well-maintained component. It fails on the tile that was already slipped, the flashing that was already lifting, the gutter that was already half-blocked. A short pre-season check finds those weak points while the weather is still calm and a fix is a small job rather than an emergency call-out.

This is a practical checklist for that check. It covers what to look at, what you can safely do from the ground, and the clear cut-off for when a job stops being DIY and becomes a roofer’s job.

Why a pre-storm check is worth the hour

Storms don’t create most roof problems from scratch. They expose and accelerate the ones already there. Wind gets under a tile that has already crept out of position and rips it clean off. Rain finds the flashing gap that was tracking a small amount of water for months and turns it into a ceiling stain overnight. A blocked gutter that coped with light rain backs up under a heavy downpour and pushes water behind the fascia.

Catching those weak points early matters for three reasons:

• Cost. A single slipped tile re-bedded on a calm day is a minor job. The same tile blown off in a storm can let water into the roof structure, and you are then paying for the tile and the damage it let in.
• Safety. Loose tiles, ridge sections, and verge cement can come down in high wind. Dealing with them before the storm season keeps them off the ground below.
• Insurance. Many home insurance policies expect roofs to be reasonably maintained. Damage traced back to a long-neglected fault can be harder to claim for than damage from a one-off weather event.

The pre-season roof checklist

Work through these from the ground (and from the loft) where you can. You do not need to get on the roof, and you shouldn’t. Binoculars, a phone camera on zoom, and a torch in the loft will show you the great majority of what matters.

1. Tiles and slates

Walk the full perimeter of the house and look up at each roof slope. You are looking for:

• Slipped, lifted, or out-of-line tiles or slates
• Cracked or chipped tiles, especially on older roofs
• Any gaps where you can see the underlay or batten showing through
• Tiles or slate fragments on the ground or in the gutters (a strong sign something has already moved)

A single slipped tile is the most common storm weak point. Wind that gets under one displaced tile can lift its neighbours in sequence.

2. Flashings

Flashings are the metal or lead strips that seal the joins where the roof meets something else: a wall, a chimney, an extension, a dormer. They are one of the most common entry points for storm-driven rain. From the ground, look for:

• Flashing that is lifting, curling, or pulling away at the edges
• Cracked or crumbling mortar where flashing is bedded into brickwork
• Any visible gaps along the line of the flashing

Water that gets behind a failed flashing often travels some distance before it shows up inside, which is why these leaks are awkward to trace. If you want to understand how that works, our guide on why a roof leaks walks through the common paths water takes.

3. Ridge and verge

The ridge runs along the very top of the roof; the verge is the edge where the roof meets the gable end. Both are high-exposure points that take the full force of the wind. Check for:

• Cracked, loose, or missing mortar along the ridge line
• Ridge tiles that look out of line or lifted
• Crumbling or gapping verge cement at the gable ends

Older roofs bedded on sand-and-cement mortar are the usual culprits here. A dry-ridge or dry-verge system is far more storm-resilient, but in the short term the priority is simply spotting mortar that has already failed.

4. Gutters and downpipes

This is the single most overlooked item, and the one that does the most damage in a summer downpour. Blocked gutters cannot move water fast enough, so it backs up, overflows, and runs down the wall or behind the fascia. Before storm season:

• Clear out leaves, moss, and debris from the gutters
• Check that downpipes run freely and the outlet at the bottom isn’t blocked
• Look for sagging, leaking joints or sections pulling away from the fascia
• Make sure water is actually reaching the drain and not pooling against the house

Moss washed down from the roof is a common blocker, so a roof that is shedding moss is also one whose gutters need a closer look.

5. Roof valleys

A valley is the internal angle where two roof slopes meet, and it channels a large volume of water during heavy rain. Because of that, valleys are one of the first places a roof fails under storm conditions. From an upstairs window or with binoculars, check for:

• Leaves, moss, or debris collecting in the valley
• Cracked mortar or damaged valley lining
• Any sign of the valley material lifting or splitting

A blocked or damaged valley under a summer cloudburst can put a lot of water in the wrong place very quickly.

6. Chimney and lead flashing

Chimneys take weather on every side and are a frequent source of leaks. Check for:

• Cracked or loose mortar in the chimney brickwork (the flaunching around the pot in particular)
• Lead flashing around the base that is lifting, splitting, or has slipped
• Any visible gaps where the chimney meets the roof line

Chimney work is almost always above safe ground-level reach, so this is a spot-it-then-call-someone item rather than a DIY fix.

7. Loft insulation and ventilation

Finish the check inside, in the loft, on a dry day. This is where you confirm whether anything is already getting in:

• Look for daylight coming through the roof, which means a gap that rain will follow
• Check for damp patches, water stains, or dark marks on the underlay and rafters
• Make sure insulation isn’t blocking the ventilation gaps at the eaves (trapped, damp air rots timber over time)
• Note any musty smell, which often points to moisture that hasn’t fully dried out

If you can, take a second look during heavy rain. Active leaks are far easier to pinpoint than dry stains. Much of what threatens a roof in a storm is damage you can’t see from the street, so it is worth reading our guide to hidden roof damage alongside this check.

When to call a roofer, and when it’s safe to DIY

The dividing line is simple and worth sticking to.

Safe to do yourself:

• Visual checks from the ground with binoculars or a phone camera
• Clearing gutters and downpipes you can reach safely from a stable, footed ladder with someone holding it
• Loft inspections from inside
• Photographing anything that looks wrong so you can show a roofer

Call a roofer:

• Anything that needs you to be on the roof. Working at height is the single biggest cause of serious DIY injuries in the UK. Re-bedding tiles, repointing ridges, or sealing flashing all mean being on the roof, and that is a roofer’s job with the right access and safety equipment.
• Anything structural. Sagging roof lines, decayed rafters, or widespread underlay failure are not patch jobs.
• Anything around the chimney or high flashing, which is out of safe reach from the ground.
• Anything you can’t diagnose. A persistent damp patch with no obvious cause needs a proper survey, not guesswork.

If you find something during the check, the calm weeks before storm season are exactly the right time to get it fixed. Leaving it until a storm has already done the damage turns a planned repair into an emergency roofing repair, which is more disruptive and more expensive. For a wider routine to keep on top of, our roof maintenance tips cover the year-round basics.

A note for Sussex and the south coast

If you are on or near the coast, your roof works harder than an inland one. Salt-laden air accelerates corrosion on metal components, nails, fixings, and flashings, so coastal roofs tend to develop weak points sooner. Add the exposure to onshore winds and driving rain coming straight off the sea, and the case for a pre-season check is even stronger here.

Brighton, Worthing, Hastings, and the rest of the Sussex coast all sit in that exposed band. We’ve written separately about how Brighton’s coastal weather affects roofs, and the same principles apply right along the south coast: check fixings and flashings more often, clear gutters before every storm season, and deal with corrosion early before it spreads.

Book a pre-storm inspection

A pre-season roof check is the cheapest insurance you can buy against storm damage. If your own check turns up anything you’re not sure about, or you would rather have a professional set of eyes on the roof before the weather turns, we can help.

Nationwide Roofing Southern carries out roof inspections and repairs across Sussex, Surrey, Kent and London, and is registered with both the NFRC and CHAS. We will tell you honestly what needs doing now, what can wait, and what is fine as it is.

Get in touch for a free quote and get your roof storm-ready before the first one arrives.

Frequently asked questions