TPO Roofs in Centreville, VA: NOAA's Hail Reports Read
Hail is the weather owners of flat roofs worry about most, so we read what the federal storm file holds for Centreville. It lists a dozen hail reports, and it is silent on what any of them did to a roof.
The record
Which hail reports does NOAA file under Centreville, and how big were the stones?
Twelve entries on eleven days, taken from the National Centers for Environmental Information's Storm Events files for Fairfax County.
- September 21, 1993
Hail of 2.00 inches, the largest size in the set. The entry names no reporter and carries no narrative.
- April 23, 1999
1.75 inches, from a trained spotter, inside a storm line the same file describes as stretching from Winchester to Woodbridge.
- 2001 to 2006
Four reports, from 0.75 to 1.00 inch: May 22, 2001; May 26 and August 3, 2002; July 4, 2006.
- 2008
Three reports of 0.75 to 1.00 inch: July 27, from an amateur radio operator at Interstate 66 and Route 28, and two spotter reports on August 2.
- July 31, 2012
One report of 1.00 inch.
- June 14, 2021 and June 16, 2023
1.25 inches each time, both logged as public reports. The 2024 to 2026 files hold no hail entry with a Centreville reference.
The count is a count of reports, not of storms over your roof
Spotters and the public phone in what they see, so the file reflects who was watching. We draw no trend from it, and the 1993 entry is the only one without a named reporter.
Reading the file
What do the fields in a storm entry mean?
- LocationReference point
- NOAA's format sheet defines it as the city, town or village from which a range and compass direction are measured. An entry labelled Centreville can sit a mile or two northwest, west or north of the place.
- MagnitudeHail size
- For hail, the diameter in inches to the hundredth. It is the reporter's estimate, and the narratives often describe it by coin size.
- NarrativeFree text
- A sentence or two from the forecast office. Where the twelve hail entries have one, it names a reporter or a crossing road, never a roof.
- EpisodeWider storm text
- A longer account of the whole storm day across several counties. Its damage lines belong to the places it names, not necessarily to Centreville.
Where roofs do appear
Which Centreville entries mention roofs, and are they flat ones?
Two tornado entries do. The survey text for June 24, 1996 follows the path into the Sully Station area, where one house on Tree Line Drive lost its entire roof and dozens more had shingle or roof damage. The one for September 17, 2004 reports minor roofing damage in the London Town area. These describe pitched house roofs.
The only hail text that touches a membrane belongs to the April 1999 storm day, and it concerns Winchester: the rubber membrane roof of the War Memorial Building was punctured by golf-ball-sized hail. That is another town and, in the file's own words, a rubber roof, so it says nothing about TPO. It does show that a membrane can be holed by large stones, which is why the questions on this page exist.
Before you call
Which papers and facts should a TPO roof owner gather after a hail report?
- The date of the last storm anyone remembersHail dates in the table above are a starting point; your own street may have had a different day.
- The membrane's name on a data sheetThe model building code lists TPO under ASTM D6878. A white surface alone does not tell TPO from PVC or EPDM.
- The last inspection recordThe single-ply trade association says low-slope roofs should be inspected at least twice a year and after any major storm.
- The test names in any proposalThe 2021 code names FM 4474, UL 580 or UL 1897 for membrane wind testing and ASTM D3746, ASTM D4272 or an FM 4470 foot-traffic test for impact. None reads to us as a hail rating.
- The perimeter metalEdge metal on these roofs is to be tested to ANSI/SPRI ES-1 under the same code chapter; ask whether the quote says so.
How it goes
What happens between a hail report and a decision about the membrane?
Look
Someone safe on the roof checks seams, flashings and drains and photographs anything odd.
Ask
The owner puts the findings and the data sheet in front of us on the phone.
Decide
Repair, watch or replace is chosen from what is on the roof, not from the weather file.
A quiet ceiling is not an inspection
Water can travel under a membrane before it shows below. The trade advice is to look after storms, not only after leaks.
FAQ
Questions about Centreville hail and TPO roofs
Does a hail report mean my Centreville roof was damaged?
No. None of the twelve entries says a roof was hit, and a report is one person's sighting near a reference point.
What is the biggest hail NOAA lists for Centreville?
2.00 inches on September 21, 1993, then 1.75 inches on April 23, 1999. The two most recent entries, in 2021 and 2023, are 1.25 inches.
Does the record show TPO standing up to hail better than other membranes?
It shows nothing about any membrane in Centreville. The one membrane in the file is the rubber roof in Winchester, and no material is ranked.
Why would an entry labelled Centreville not be in town?
The label is the reference point for a measured distance and direction. Some entries sit more than a mile northwest or west of it.
Should I inspect a flat roof after a storm with no hail report near me?
The trade association's advice is to inspect after any major storm, not only a hailstorm. A missing report only means nobody phoned one in.
Where can I read the same entries?
NOAA publishes the yearly detail files as open downloads. Filter for Virginia, Fairfax County and a location containing Centreville.
Pages read
Which sources did we open for this Centreville TPO page?
Checked October 15, 2026.
- NOAA NCEI Storm Events: yearly detail files
- NOAA NCEI: Storm Data bulk file format
- SPRI: single-ply roofing FAQ
- 2021 International Building Code, chapter 15
Back to roofing in Centreville. The same town's EPDM page reads the old-town design guidelines. Nearby, Chantilly's TPO page and Fairfax's TPO page use their own sources. For the general picture see the Northern Virginia TPO guide and the flat roof guide.
Talk through the next step
Tell us what fell and what is on the roof
Give us the street, the date of the storm you remember and whatever you know about the membrane. A short phone call comes first.
9220 Topaz St, Fairfax, VA 22031
Mon to Fri 7 AM to 8:30 PM, Sat 7 AM to 8 PM, closed Sunday