As any homeowner will know their home roofing is a vital protection against wind, rain and any inhospitable storms, including extreme weather events like tornadoes. The condition of the house roof is as important as the state of the rest of the property especially when the homeowners are away from home and dependent on neighbours or housesitters to mind their home.  Ensuring the home roofing is up to standard, especially in an area vulnerable to extreme weather conditions. Here are some recommendations and more detail on why tornadoes are such a threat to property.

A roof is the first and main protection if a house in case of a tornado. In order to be safe you must ensure your roof is tornado proof. Such type of a roof is not easily ripped off by tornadoes when they hit. This guarantees your safety in a critical state.

Basics Of Tornadoes

Basically, a tornado is a violently rotating column of air. Hanging below it is a cumuliform cloud which appears as a funnel cloud. Before a vortex becomes a tornado it must touch the ground. The ground forms the cloud base of a tornado. High winds and rains often accompany a tornado before and after even a funnel cloud is formed. Thunderstorms also firm in conjunction with tornadoes, they include hail and lightning.

A tornado can last for several hours and others only last for several seconds. Though they last for a short time, the damage they bring is significant to home roofing it encounters in its path. They also generate other dangerous weather conditions that last much longer. intensity and type of a tornado is measured using the Enhanced F scale. It is rated from F0 to F5. F5 is the strongest and most dangerous while an F0 is subtle.

An F0-F1 tornado can have short wind bursts lasting upto 3 seconds up to 110 mph. They result in minor damage like broken branches and blown off roof shingles. F2 and F3 may have speeds that reach upto 165 mph, strong enough to overturn cars and mobile homes. Tornadoes have distinct and unique damage characteristics,they include ripped off, damaged, cracked roof shingles, broken windows and ruined gutter systems.

F4 and F5 tornadoes are very strong and dangerous. Wind speeds reach up to 200 mph. They’ve been measured to over a mile wide. Tornadoes are unforgiving as they cause catastrophic damage to entire communities by levelling houses, hurling debris and vehicles. They account for 1% of total tornadoes but are responsible for more than 70% of tornado deaths.

Home roofing

How To Tornado Proof Your Home

Tornado roofing requires the help of a professional. If your property is in a tornado vulnerable area ensuring your home roofing is up to standard is critical.

Data analyzed of debris hurled by extreme weather conditions such as tornadoes reveal the parametres of the impact. Roofers work to guidelines developed using this data, to protect houses constructed in areas that are prone to be hit by such extreme weather. Mostly what brings about damage are the high velocity winds that hurl debris and rip off houses.

When the wind hits, the first line of defence is the roof. The tornado rips off the roof because of the difference in air pressure. The tornado forces off the roof when the air pressure outside is low compared to the air pressure inside the house. As a result this exerts high pressure to the outside ripping it off. In tornadoes, the roof is usually the first to go. Here are some of the ways for tornado roofing:

● Increasing The Number Of Slopes on a house roof

Increasing the number of slopes in your home roofing increases the roof’s aerodynamics. This increases the defence of your house roof, and reduces the amount of pressure exerted on the roof. It is recommended to fit home roofing with at least four slopes.  Traditional gable roofs are discouraged as they only have two slopes.

● Installing Movable Flaps in Home Roofing

A Movable flap close to the seam of the roof will help maintain the roof stability. As winds swirl around the house, they can push the roof from the outside and the inside. During a tornado, the flap would open, stabilise the air pressure on the roof. The flap is also multi functional as it can provide ventilation during hot weather.

● Hurricane Clips

Hurricane clips secure the house roof to the house more firmly. Clips and nails would not sustain the pressure exerted by tornadoes. Using a combination of all will provide a very sturdy roof.

That’s all you need to know about tornadoes and home roofing, as either a homeowner or a housesitter.

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