Dust storms over the horizon is the last thing you want to see in Arizona or Texas. This force of nature can cause amazing amounts of damage to property and your roof. Being prepared can mean all the difference between staying in your home waiting out the dust storm or holes being punched into your walls and roof.
The Haboob: A Deadly Type of Dust Storm
A regular dust storm blowing through an area can cause quite a bit of damage. However there is a certain type of dust storm that far exceeds what a regular dust storm can do. These are called Haboobs. “Haboobs” in Arizona and many other places in the world, is a strong form of weather front that gets its name from the Arabic “habūb” meaning blasting or drafting. These dust storms are typically made by a storm cell stirring up dust and pushing it towards the direction the cell is travelling.
Wind speeds in haboob are typically 30 miles per hour up to a staggering 60 miles per hour. It certainly deserves it’s namesake as it will blast your home with severe winds, dust and debris that can scrape the paint off of a car if the winds are fast enough. The worst part is that these strong winds can appear out of nowhere and can easily catch unprepared homeowners with their pants down.
Preparing Your Roof
You never know when the dust storm of the century will arrive. Its best to make sure that your roof is ready for when a particularly strong dust storm arrives. You just need to follow these steps to make sure that you can sit in your home without worrying about your roof getting damaged throughout a dust storm.
Constant Maintenance
Constant maintenance not only helps with your roof being ready for strong rain storms but also helps a lot when it has to deal with a dust storm. Needless to say that making sure that your roof is constantly maintained makes it more resilient to a dust storm tearing away at it.
Trim Those Trees
Like with a strong rain storm, a dust storm will have strong winds that will rip off branches from trees. Eventually those branches will not only scrape away at your roof, they can also smash into your home and punch a hole straight through your wall or break a window.
Keep Loose Objects and Furniture Indoors
This includes chairs, lawn ornaments and other objects that can easily be blown away by a strong wind. The same logic from tree trimming applies here as these things will be debris that will end up damaging your roof and your home if left outside. Imagine a garden gnome just crashing through your window because you left it outside during a particularly strong dust storm.
Inspections Can Go A Long Way
Knowing is the first step to conducting a proper maintenance. You can’t fix or maintain something properly if you don’t know exactly what’s wrong or weak. You can either do the inspection yourself or have a trained professional take a look at your roof to identify the problem spots for you.
Our professionals at Renco Roofing can help you with your roof inspections and help you keep your roof in tip top condition, rain or shine. Just give us a call and we’ll be more than happy to help you out!
