April 15 Hail Storm: What Medina and Northeast Ohio Homeowners Need to Do Right Now

If you were in Northeast Ohio on the evening of April 15, you know what happened. Golf ball-sized hail, wind gusts up to 60 mph, thousands of homes without power across Cuyahoga, Summit, Medina, and Lorain counties. It was one of the more significant storm events the region has seen this spring.

The storm is over. The damage isn't.

Most of it is sitting on roofs right now, invisible from the ground, and the clock on your insurance claim is already running.

What the April 15 Storm Actually Produced

The National Weather Service issued severe thunderstorm warnings across Medina, Summit, Cuyahoga, Lorain, and Portage counties. Confirmed hail sizes ranged from quarter-size to golf ball-size depending on location, with wind gusts reported at 60 mph. Communities directly in the path included Medina, Wadsworth, Brunswick, Strongsville, Brecksville, North Royalton, Broadview Heights, Fairlawn, Stow, Brecksville, Twinsburg, and Hudson, among others.

The storm was severe enough that it destroyed 20 Solon police cruisers and knocked out power to thousands of residents across the region. When a storm does that kind of damage to vehicles and infrastructure, residential roofs in the same path took hits.

Why You Probably Haven't Seen the Damage Yet

Hail doesn't tear shingles off. It knocks loose the granules that protect the asphalt layer underneath. Those granules are what give shingles their weather resistance. When they're gone, the clock starts on water intrusion, but you won't see it for months.

From the ground, your roof looks exactly the same as it did before April 15. That's the problem. By the time you can see visible damage without a ladder, water has usually already found its way in.

The only way to know if you have a legitimate claim is to get on the roof and look.

What to Check Right Now

You don't need to get on the roof yourself. Start from the ground.

Check your gutters and downspouts. After a hail event, granule loss shows up here immediately as a dark, sandy buildup. If you're seeing more granule accumulation than usual, your shingles took impact.

Check your AC unit and soft metals. Hail leaves dents on aluminum and copper surfaces. If your AC condenser, vents, or window screens have dents, the same storm produced enough force to damage roofing materials.

Check your siding. Cracks or dents on vinyl siding are a reliable indicator that hail size was significant enough to affect the roof.

If you find any of these signs, schedule a free inspection before you call your insurance company. That order matters.

Why You Want an Inspection Before You File

Getting a contractor's inspection documented before you open a claim does three things for you.

• First, it tells you whether you actually have damage worth claiming. Not every storm event produces claimable damage on every roof. A good contractor will tell you honestly what they found. If it doesn't meet your deductible, you're better off knowing before you put a claim on your record.

  
  

• Second, it gives you documentation before the adjuster arrives. Adjusters work for the insurance company. Having a contractor present at the adjuster visit, with photos and a written report already in hand, changes the outcome of that meeting in most cases.

  
  

• Third, it protects you from the storm chasers. After a major event like April 15, out-of-state contractors flood Northeast Ohio looking to sign homeowners to contingency contracts before they know what they have. A local inspection from a contractor you can verify gives you a baseline before anyone starts pushing you toward a claim.

  
  

Your Claim Window in Ohio

Ohio homeowners generally have one year from the date of a storm to file a claim. That sounds like a long time. It isn't, because most insurers require the damage to be documented close to the event date. Waiting three months to get an inspection, then filing, invites the argument that damage occurred at a different time or from normal wear.

The right move is to document now, even if you decide to file later.

How 4K Roofing Is Responding

We've been on roofs across Medina, Summit, Cuyahoga, and Lorain counties since April 16. The storm damage in this corridor is real and widespread. Homes in Medina, Brunswick, Wadsworth, Strongsville, Brecksville, North Royalton, and surrounding communities are showing granule loss, bruised shingles, and soft metal damage consistent with the hail sizes confirmed by the National Weather Service.

The inspection is free. We document every impact point with photos and measurements, walk you through exactly what we found, and give you an honest assessment of your claim potential before we suggest anything.

If you have legitimate damage, we'll file the claim with you, meet the adjuster on-site, and advocate for full coverage. If you don't, we'll tell you that too.

Call 216-469-0863 or schedule your free inspection here. We're moving fast across the area right now, so the sooner you reach out, the sooner we can get to you.

4K Roofing & Restoration serves homeowners across Medina County, Summit County, Cuyahoga County, and Lorain County. Licensed, bonded, and insured. Owens Corning Preferred Contractor.