Hail and Storm Damage Repair in Brainerd, MN

Published November 4, 2026

What hail and wind do to homes around the Brainerd lakes

Our own Brainerd area page draws on public weather records: hail an inch across or larger, the size that starts to hurt a roof, has fallen within 10 miles of Brainerd 35 times in the years from 2016, most recently in September 2025, and thunderstorm gusts nearby have reached 81 mph. That is a lot of weather for one town, and it explains why so many houses in the area carry a second or third roof.

Hail and wind leave different fingerprints. A hailstone hits straight on and bruises: the shingle mat underneath the granules cracks or softens, and the spot loses its protective coating. From the street the roof can look perfectly normal for a season or two, until those bare patches start to curl and let water in. Wind works sideways instead. It catches the lower edge of a shingle, breaks the adhesive strip that holds it flat and folds it back, which leaves a crease you can only see from up close.

Lake homes add their own wrinkle. Many sit in the open with long views across the water, and a storm coming over a lake has nothing to slow it down before it reaches the first row of houses. Tall pines are the other local risk: a falling limb can puncture a roof deck or tear a run of gutter off the fascia in seconds.

The free storm-damage inspection

Omega Exteriors offers a free roof inspection that includes looking for storm damage, and the team from our Brainerd office covers the lakes area. An inspector checks each slope of the roof up close, the flashing around chimneys and vents, the gutters and downspouts, the siding on every side of the house, and the window screens and wraps that face the storm.

If you want to look before anyone comes out, our guide to signs of hail and wind damage explains what can be checked safely from the ground. Please stay off the roof yourself; wet or damaged shingles are slippery and steep roofs are dangerous in any weather.

After the inspection: a plan for the house

When hail or high winds have damaged a roof around the lakes, Omega inspects it and then repairs or replaces it, and the same visit covers the siding, gutters and windows that faced the storm. You get a plain account of what the inspector found, photos of the damage, and a written estimate that lists each part of the house separately, so you can see which items are repairs and which are replacements.

The schedule follows the season. A roof that took hail in July is best finished before the first snow sits on it, and work on a cabin that is closed for winter can be planned around when someone will be up to open it.

For the steps from the inspection to the finished house, read our guide to storm damage repair and replacement.

Roof replacement after hail

Hail damage is rarely fixed one shingle at a time. Once the mat is bruised across a slope, a patch leaves new shingles next to weakened ones that will fail on their own schedule, and color matching an older roof is difficult. When the inspection finds bruising across a slope or the whole roof, a replacement is usually the answer.

A storm replacement follows the same sequence as any other new roof: tear-off to the deck, repair of any soft or broken boards, underlayment and ice barrier at the eaves, new flashing, the shingles themselves, and ridge ventilation. Our page on what to expect during a roof replacement walks through each day. Omega Exteriors holds the IKO Craftsman Premier credential, and the asphalt shingle lines we install come in colors that suit both lake cabins and in-town houses. If you are planning a budget, our guide to roof replacement cost explains what moves the price.

Siding and gutter storm repairs

Siding takes the hit that the roof does not. Vinyl turns brittle in cold weather and cracks under hail, and the side of the house that faced the storm usually tells the story: holes, chips and split panels in a band at the height the wind drove the ice. Steel and fiber cement hold up better but can still dent or chip at the edges. Our siding storm damage restoration replaces damaged panels and, when a color can no longer be matched, a full wall or the whole house.

Gutters are often the first clue. Soft aluminum dents before shingles show much, so a row of small dimples along the gutter face is a good sign the hail was large enough to look at the roof. Bent hangers, a loose downspout or a gutter pulled away from the fascia after a windstorm are worth fixing before winter, because a gutter that drains badly feeds ice dams. Our gutter storm damage restoration covers replacement with seamless gutters.

Brainerd-area storm projects

Our work in the area is on the site already. Roof replacements in Brainerd, Baxter, Nisswa, Crosby and Pequot Lakes each have their own page with photos of the finished roof.

Call the Brainerd office

The Brainerd office of Omega Exteriors is at 217 S 7th St in Brainerd, and its phone is (218) 833-2997. Call to book the free inspection, or request a free estimate online and tell us the town, the date of the storm and what you have noticed. If the storm was months ago, that is still worth a call: hail bruising does not heal, and a roof that took a hit in summer is the one most likely to leak once snow sits on it.