PVC Roofs in Arlington, VA: What the Storm Log Shows
The National Weather Service keeps a county-level storm log for Arlington inside NOAA's Storm Events Database. It holds 99 rows from January 2016 to the September 2026 release. Sixty-eight are thunderstorm wind, four mention a roof, and none names a roof material. So the log tells you what weather reaches Arlington roofs and nothing about how PVC, or any membrane, behaved under it.
Rows that say roof
The four roof entries, with what each leaves out
Torrential rain overwhelmed a building drainage system, forcing a pipe to burst, causing a partial roof collapse at a restaurant…
NOAA Storm Events, Arlington, flash flood, July 25, 2018, event 774662.
The roof of a commercial building was partially peeled off at the intersection of US-29 Lee Highway and North Lexington Street.
NOAA Storm Events, Arlington, thunderstorm wind, July 1, 2021, event 958225, estimated gust of 65 knots, reported by an NWS employee.
Siding [was] torn off a roof of a [convenience store] on Columbia Pike.
NOAA Storm Events, Arlington, thunderstorm wind, March 1, 2017, event 682889, estimated gust of 52 knots, broadcast-media report. Brackets mark our edits: a typo and a store brand.
The fourth is a September 1, 2021 report of a large tree limb blowing through the roof of a residence near Lee Highway and Military Road. The other homes in the log are tree stories, such as a tree onto two houses on North Frederick Street on June 19, 2025.
The record
How many storm reports has Arlington County logged each year?
Reading the bars
- Purple: thunderstorm wind, 68 rows
- Teal: flood or flash flood, 24 rows
- Yellow: hail, 5 rows, all on one day
- Red: tornado, 2 rows
2021 is the outlier with 28 rows, 22 of them wind. The 68 wind rows fall on 42 separate dates, 17 of those in July. Snow, ice, heat and fog, which NOAA files by forecast zone, are not in these numbers. The 2026 bar is partial, so the chart shows no trend.
The two tornado rows are an EF0 on April 6, 2017 and an EF1 on July 1, 2021. The 2021 survey gives a 2.86-mile path from Waverly Hills through Cherrydale, Lyon Village and Courthouse to Rosslyn, and says some homes lost siding and shingles.
Where the log stops
Hail and wind figures that say nothing about a membrane
All five hail rows are from April 15, 2024: half-dollar-size hail near the East Falls Church Metro station and in a courtyard on North Westmoreland Street, quarter-size in Westover and twice just west of Reagan National Airport. None mentions a roof. The building code asks low-slope coverings to resist impact, and our flat roof page sets PVC beside the other sheets, but a hail diameter in this log says nothing about PVC or any other membrane. The wind figures are gusts in knots, not roof ratings.
On the roof
After a gusty or flooded day, what does the trade say to look at?
The single-ply trade group SPRI says low-slope roofs should be inspected at least twice a year and after any major storm. Its list, in our order:
- The perimeterLoose metal or fasteners along the edge.
- Flashings around penetrationsTight and undamaged, at every pipe, curb and vent.
- DrainsOpen, with debris removed. The 2018 entry is the reminder that a drain line is part of the roof question.
- Change since the last lookNote it, and ask the installer or a registered roof consultant if questions arise.
- The sheet itselfIf it is PVC, the code table lists it under ASTM D4434, and it is a thermoplastic, so its seams are welded with hot air. Ask for that standard on the data sheet.
FAQ
Questions about reading a storm log before choosing a sheet
Does the log show a PVC roof failing or holding up in Arlington?
Neither. No narrative among the 99 names PVC, TPO, EPDM, metal or any covering, so it cannot rank them.
Are NOAA's wind numbers miles per hour?
No, knots for wind and inches for hail. EG marks an estimated gust and MG a measured one. A knot is about 1.15 mph, which is how we converted above.
Is the log a count of every damaged roof?
No. Rows come from the media, NWS staff and emergency managers, and most describe trees, roads and vehicles. A roof nobody reports has no row.
Why leave out snow and ice?
NOAA files them under forecast zones, and we pulled only county-type rows. Nothing here speaks to snow or ice on a flat roof.
Does the log show Arlington getting stormier?
It does not support that reading. Counts swing from 2 to 28, and one year is partial.
Where are the permit questions for a PVC re-roof answered?
On our Arlington page for the county's roof table and on our Arlington TPO page for the three-or-more-unit commercial route. Historic complexes are on our Arlington metal page.
Where can I compare PVC with other sheets?
Our materials guide does, and our DC PVC page covers PVC across building types.
- NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, bulk detail files 2016 to 2026, filtered to Arlington County, Virginia
- Storm Events bulk file format guide
- SPRI single-ply FAQ
- 2021 International Building Code, Chapter 15
Talk through the next step
Tell us what the roof did on the storm day
Say whether the building is a shop, a restaurant, an apartment building or a house, where water showed inside and which edge or drain you suspect. That is enough to plan what to look at on the roof.
9220 Topaz St, Fairfax, VA 22031
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