Missing Shingles After Wind: Repair or Replace?
A few shingles lost on a sound roof is a repair. Shingles coming off in more than one place, or on a roof that was already worn, is a sign the whole roof is letting go.
What you may notice
Shingles or torn tabs on the lawn or in the gutters after a windy night
A rectangle on the roof that is darker or a different color than the shingles around it
Tabs that flap in a breeze, or stand up and do not lie back down
A horizontal crease across a shingle where it has been bent back
Exposed black underlayment, bare wood or a row of nail heads
How soon it needs attention
If you can see underlayment or wood, get it covered soon. Underlayment is a backup layer, not a roof, and it will not last through a wet season exposed. If tabs are creased or lifted but still in place, the roof will shed water for now, but each wind event will take more. Either way, do not go up to check; a roofer can judge it from a ladder and photos.
Missing shingles: what the pattern tells you
Missing shingles are the most visible kind of roof damage, and where they came from says a lot. A single patch near a ridge or an edge, on the side that faces the wind, is ordinary storm damage. Tabs gone here and there across more than one slope suggest the shingles have stopped sealing to each other.
On the east side of the metro the cause is often the wind that pours out of the Columbia River Gorge in winter. The Gresham page has the measured gusts from the January 2024 storm.
What a roofer checks
- whether the shingles around the gap are still sealed down
- whether creased tabs nearby are cracked through
- the underlayment and deck where they were exposed
- ridge caps, which take the most wind
- the age and overall condition of the roof
A bare patch can let water in before you see a stain. If one has appeared, the roof leak page covers what to do indoors.
Repair or replace?
Replacing a handful of shingles is a routine roof repair. When the same roof keeps losing them, the money is better put toward a replacement. The cost page lists published ranges for both.
What causes it
Shingles are held by nails and by a strip of sealant that bonds each course to the one below. When that bond has aged out or never set, wind lifts the tab, creases it and eventually tears it off, leaving underlayment or nail heads exposed.
The sealant strip between courses has aged and no longer holds the tab down
Shingles installed in cold weather that never bonded
Nails placed too high, so they miss the layer below
Old shingles that have gone brittle and tear at the nail
Limbs striking or scraping the roof in a storm
Services that fix it
Request a Roofing Quote
Tell us about your roof and we pass your request to a local, CCB-licensed roofing contractor who can quote the work.
Common questions
Can a roofer replace just the missing shingles?
Yes, when the surrounding shingles are flexible enough to lift without cracking. New shingles are slid in, nailed and sealed by hand. On an old, brittle roof the neighbors break as they are lifted, and the repair grows.
Will the new shingles match?
Rarely exactly. The roof has weathered, and the product or color may no longer be made. A roofer can get close, and can put the patch where it shows least if there is a choice.
Does insurance cover shingles blown off by wind?
Wind damage is the kind of sudden loss policies are generally written for, but coverage and deductibles vary and insurers look at the roof's age and condition. Ask your insurer, and photograph the damage and the debris before anything is cleaned up.
How many missing shingles means a new roof?
There is no count. One patch on one slope after an unusual storm is a repair. Losses on several slopes, or again after an ordinary storm, mean the sealant has failed across the roof.
Request a Roofing Quote
Tell us about your roof and we pass your request to a local, CCB-licensed roofing contractor who can quote the work.