TL;DR
After a San Antonio hailstorm, a skylight with intact glass often isn’t fine. Hail rarely breaks the tempered glass; it dents and lifts the flashing, the metal seal around the skylight, and that broken seal leaks weeks later as a ceiling stain. Check the flashing for dents, lifting, and separation, look for granule loss around the curb, and photograph everything. Flashing and sealant damage is usually a repair; cracked glass or a failed glazing seal means replacement. Document it, get the skylight inspected with the roof, and know your Texas claim deadline.
The storm rolls through, you look up, and the skylight glass is fine. No cracks. Most people stop there and assume it survived, and that assumption is behind some of the most expensive repairs we see. Hail rarely breaks tempered skylight glass. What it wrecks is the flashing, the metal seal that keeps water out, and a broken seal doesn’t show up until it’s a stain on your ceiling weeks later. Here’s what hail actually does to a skylight, how to tell repair from replacement, and what to do before it turns into a drywall job.
Does intact glass mean the skylight is fine after hail?
No. Tempered skylight glass is built to take impact, so hail often lacks the mass to crack it. The vulnerable part is the flashing, the metal seal connecting the skylight curb to the roof. Hail dents, lifts, or cracks that flashing and breaks the water barrier while the glass stays perfectly intact. That gap between “looks fine” and “still keeping water out” is exactly where the trouble starts.
Flashing damage doesn’t announce itself. Water slips through the compromised seal, travels down the inside of the curb, and moves through the attic before it ever reaches your ceiling. By the time you see a stain, that water has been on the move for weeks.
What does hail damage to a skylight look like?
Look for damage around the metal, not the glass. The signs are dented or lifted flashing at the skylight’s edges, separation where the flashing meets the shingles, granule loss on the roof right around the curb, and any ceiling discoloration inside near the skylight. If you can see any of that, the seal is likely already broken. Here’s how the common signs sort out:
| Sign after hail | What it means | Likely fix |
|---|---|---|
| Dented or lifted flashing at the edges | The water seal is opening up | Repair or replace the flashing |
| Separation where flashing meets the shingles | Seal broken, usually on the upslope side | Reseal or reflash |
| Granule loss on shingles around the curb | The storm hit hard right here | Inspect the whole skylight |
| Cracked or fractured glass or dome | The pane is compromised | Replace the skylight |
| Fog or condensation between the panes | The glazing seal has failed | Replace (usually) |
| Ceiling stain near the skylight | It’s already leaking | Inspect and fix now |
One caution: no visible signs from the ground doesn’t mean the skylight is fine. The worst flashing damage sits on the roof surface where you can’t see it, which is why a close inspection is the only way to confirm the seal is holding.
Why does a skylight leak after hail even if the glass looks fine?
Because the leak isn’t coming through the glass, it’s coming through the seal. Flashing bridges two materials that expand and contract at different rates in Texas heat, so it’s already under stress before a storm. Hail doesn’t need to be baseball-sized to dent or dislodge it; smaller stones hit hard enough to break the seal on the upslope side, the side that faces the storm.
On the northwest side of San Antonio, our crew regularly finds flashing already pulling away from the curb after a hail event on skylights that look untouched from the ground. On one call, the homeowner was sure the skylight had survived; the glass was intact, but the flashing had separated on the upslope side and water was weeks from showing inside. Catching it there kept it a flashing repair instead of a drywall-and-insulation job. That’s the damage homeowners miss.
Should you repair or replace a hail-damaged skylight?
It depends on what the hail hit. If it only dented or cracked the flashing and the curb and glass are sound, a flashing repair or replacement usually does it. If the glass is cracked, the glazing seal is compromised, the unit is more than about 15 years old, or the hail was larger than roughly 2 inches, replacement is the smarter call. Cost-wise, skylight repairs typically run a few hundred to around $1,500, while a full replacement runs $1,200 to $3,500 depending on the type.
Whatever the fix, handle the skylight and the roof together. A skylight is part of the roofing system, not a separate feature, so a storm damage inspection should cover both. Repairing the roof while ignoring the skylight leaves a gap in the water barrier that the next hard rain will find.
Does insurance cover skylight hail damage, and what’s the Texas deadline?
Most Texas homeowners policies cover sudden hail damage, and skylight flashing damage usually belongs on the same claim as the roof. Timing matters: depending on your policy you generally have between 90 days and one year from the storm to file, and the Texas Department of Insurance recommends checking your policy’s reporting deadline right after a storm rather than waiting to see if a leak develops. Miss the window and the insurer has grounds to deny.
To be clear on our role: BH provides the detailed documentation and photos to support your claim, a photographed inspection report you submit. We’re not a public adjuster, so we don’t file or negotiate the claim, and we don’t attend the adjuster’s inspection on your behalf. What helps most is having that documentation in hand early, because the common mistake is filing months later once a ceiling stain appears, when the insurer can argue the damage is pre-existing.
What should you do right after a hailstorm?
Document first, and stay off the roof. From the ground, photograph the skylight from every side and the roof around it, note the storm date, and check the attic and ceilings for any staining. Then get a professional inspection, since the flashing damage that matters is only visible from the roof surface, and a freshly hailed roof is wet and unsafe to walk without proper gear.
If water is already coming in, don’t wait on the full assessment. Our guide on the first 24 hours after roof damage covers the immediate steps, and BH’s emergency tarping can secure the area within hours to stop interior damage while the inspection is scheduled.
The ceiling stain is the last sign, not the first
By the time water shows on your ceiling, the flashing failed, the seal broke, and the water has been moving through your attic for a while, all of it before any sign inside the home. So if a storm came through, don’t wait for the drip. Get the skylight and roof inspected, get the photos in hand, and know your policy’s filing window before it closes.
BH Roofing’s free 27-point roof inspection covers skylights, flashing, and every point of the roofing system, and you can learn more about our skylight services any time. Schedule your inspection or call (210) 267-9029.
