Permian Basin roofs: hail, dry microbursts and the paperwork behind a roofer

Three counties, one pattern of big stones

Counts below come from NOAA's Storm Events Database for 2016 through 2025. "Hail days" counts the separate dates with hail of an inch or more.

In the database, Midland's 132 qualifying reports fell on just 31 days, so storms there tend to arrive in clusters with many reports at once. Pecos County, around Fort Stockton, logged 95 reports of hail 1.75 inches or larger over the decade, more than Midland or Ector (NCEI).

Storms that reached Permian Basin roofs

• April 11, 2009, Midland: the entry says numerous roofs throughout the city were damaged and puts roof damage at an estimated $160 million (NCEI event 164744).
• June 14, 2017, Odessa: the public reported baseball and softball hail that broke windows on cars and homes; one of the entries carries a very rough $100 million estimate (NCEI event 723644).
• May 30, 2024, south of Midland: reports and photos showed baseball to softball hail (NCEI event 1181840). In the Legends Park subdivision, hail and wind damaged roofs, windows, cars and solar panels (NCEI event 1181877), and an EF3 tornado near the Midland and Upton county line damaged heavy oil equipment (NCEI event 1181860).
• May 20, 2019: an EF3 tornado formed southeast of Odessa near Pleasant Farms and moved into southwest Midland County (NCEI event 822538).

Wind that needs no thunderstorm overhead

Some of the strongest gusts here come from dry microbursts. On April 22, 2025, the ASOS at Midland International Air and Space Port measured a peak gust of 97 knots from distant convection, with near-zero visibility in blowing dust (NCEI event 1245969). On June 3, 2025, a microburst near Pleasant Farms in Ector County destroyed a single-wide manufactured home and injured two people (NCEI event 1262110).

Fort Stockton gets both hazards. A storm chaser reported 5-inch hail southeast of town on April 26, 2025, judged from the crater it left in a windshield (NCEI event 1244796), and on June 2, 2025, about 50 homes reported minor roof damage and 20 power poles broke in severe wind and hail (NCEI event 1262098). FEMA's emergency declaration EM-3649, issued July 18, 2026 for flooding, includes Pecos County.

What Midland and Odessa require of contractors

The state issues no roofing license, as a 2025 House committee bill analysis confirms, so city registration does the screening. The City of Midland says contractors must be registered with the city to build or renovate, and must post a $10,000 bond approved by the City Attorney before any permit is issued; the city says bonds are valid for two years. Odessa's contractor registration packet says contractors must register with the city before a permit can be issued.

A roofer who is registered and bonded with the city has cleared a real hurdle. Ask for the permit number, and ask whose name it is under.

Checking association claims from the basin

The Roofing Contractors Association of Texas lists its regional chapters, and none is based in Midland or Odessa, so use the statewide RCAT directory. RCAT's consumer page says the directory covers companies in its membership, its voluntary licensing program, or both. NRCA's member directory searches by ZIP code and radius, which suits towns spread as far apart as these. The Texas roofing associations guide covers what each listing does and does not prove.

Roofers in Midland and Odessa

The National Roofing Directory lists roofers by city for Midland roofers and Odessa roofers.

For the claim that follows a hailstorm, see the National Roofing Directory's guide to documenting roof damage for a claim.

Frequently asked questions

Does Midland require roofers to be licensed?

Texas has no state roofing license, but the City of Midland requires contractor registration and a $10,000 bond approved by the City Attorney before it issues permits. Bonds are valid for two years.

Is there a roofing contractors association in Midland or Odessa?

RCAT's chapter list shows no chapter based in either city. Homeowners here can search the statewide RCAT directory and NRCA's national member directory instead.

How strong have Permian Basin wind gusts been?

The Midland International Air and Space Port ASOS measured a 97-knot gust during a dry microburst on April 22, 2025 (NCEI event 1245969). The record notes that damage reports from nearby Odessa supported the reading.