What to do when hail, wind or a downpour lets water into the house, and how the crew dries it out.
Fastest: call (833) 490-5225. Or send this and we call you back.
Storm damage restoration after a North Texas storm means stopping more rain from getting in, removing the water that did, and drying walls, ceilings and floors until readings are normal. Terrell Water Damage Restoration answers phones 24/7 and a crew is dispatched as fast as one is available. You approve the emergency-stage estimate before work starts.
The storm is over, the ceiling is dripping and the sky is still dark. Start with people and power. Keep everyone out of rooms with sagging ceilings, stay away from downed lines, and switch off power to a wet area only if the panel is dry and easy to reach. If water is pouring through a light fixture, leave that circuit alone and call for help.
A storm can wet a house from several directions at once. Hail bruises and splits shingles, wind lifts flashing and pushes rain sideways under siding and around window frames, and a cloudburst can overwhelm gutters, ditches and culverts in minutes. Around Terrell the ground is often saturated by the time the second storm arrives, so water that cannot soak in runs toward foundations and low doors.
Restoration here covers the water, not the roof. A roofer repairs or replaces the shingles and decking, and a window or siding contractor fixes the opening. The crew's job is to tarp or board up so the next storm does not undo the day, pull out what cannot be saved, and dry the structure with monitored equipment. Pages on roof leak water damage and flood damage cleanup go deeper on those two sources.
Storm leaks in Terrell and Kaufman County cluster in spring, with March through May bringing hail, wind and heavy rain, and a second push of late-season storms in the fall. Summer thunderstorms add more. Roof and window leaks can appear any month the ground is saturated.
North Texas weather runs in seasons. Late winter freezes give way to spring fronts, and the heaviest rain across much of the region tends to arrive in May. Soil that is already wet sheds water instead of absorbing it, so a second storm often does more harm than the first.
Terrell gets roughly 40 to 42 inches of rain in a year by most published climate summaries, and one Sunday-night storm dropped 1.78 inches at Terrell Municipal Airport in about 33 minutes, which led to at least seven high-water rescues north of West Moore Avenue. A burst like that can outrun a gutter, a driveway culvert and a door threshold all at once.
The National Weather Service Fort Worth office posts watches and warnings for Kaufman, Rockwall and Hunt counties. A phone alert is the cue to move vehicles under cover and to clear gutters and downspouts before the front arrives, not after.
No. Wet shingles and decking are slippery, hail-bruised roofs can give way, and a fall is a far bigger loss than a wet attic. Stay inside, move belongings, catch drips with buckets and call. A crew can place a tarp or board-up as a temporary cover.
Most storm injuries after the weather clears happen on ladders and roofs. A tarp has to be fastened without tearing already damaged shingles, and a loose one can flap in the next gust and make the opening bigger.
From inside, you can still do useful things. Move furniture and electronics out from under a stain, lift rugs, and put a bucket under a steady drip. If a ceiling bulges with water, stay out from under it and do not poke it open near a light fixture. A crew can relieve and extract it safely.
Keep receipts for any emergency measures you take and photograph the stain before and after you move things. Ask your insurer early what it wants documented, and read your own policy rather than guessing.
That is your insurer's decision, and policies differ. A standard homeowners policy often covers sudden storm damage to the structure, such as water entering through a hail-damaged roof, but typically excludes flood from rising or surface water. Call early, ask your agent, and keep photos and readings.
Wind and hail damage and flood damage are usually handled differently, and which one applies depends on how the water got in. Rain falling through an opened roof is a different event from ground water crossing a threshold. A storm can produce both in one night, and the dividing line is a policy question, not something the crew decides.
The Texas Department of Insurance helps consumers with claim questions and complaints. The crew can give you moisture readings and photos to share with your insurer, but nothing here promises what a claim will pay. Ask your agent what your deductible is for wind and hail, since some Texas policies treat it separately.
Mold can start growing in wet materials within a day or two, and the EPA's 24 to 48 hours is a guideline, not a deadline. Materials dried inside that window may still have growth. Drying fast limits the risk, but only moisture readings and, if needed, a licensed assessor can tell you more.
Storm water that reached attic insulation or the back of a ceiling can sit unseen for days. Humid North Texas summers add to it, because warm, moist air slows drying in a closed house.
Texas licenses mold assessors and mold remediators separately through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, and a licence is generally required once mold covers 25 contiguous square feet or more. If you find or suspect extensive growth, the mold inspection and mold remediation pages explain how those two roles differ.
Do not climb onto a wet or hail-damaged roof, and do not touch a ceiling that is bulging with water or any fixture it is dripping through. Stay clear of downed lines and standing water near outlets, then call (833) 490-5225.
The crew checks for electrical hazards, sagging ceilings and sharp debris, then photographs the damage before anything is moved. Your own photos help too, especially of the roof and yard if you can take them from the ground.
If the roof or a window is open to the weather, the crew can tarp it or board it up as a temporary cover. This is a stopgap, not a repair, and the roofer or window contractor still does the permanent work.
Water from a roof follows rafters, wall cavities and wiring holes, so it can show up far from the opening. Moisture meters and a thermal camera map attic insulation, ceilings, walls and floors so the wet area is not guessed.
Pumps and extractors remove standing water. Soaked attic insulation, saturated ceiling drywall and wet carpet pad are often cut out, with your approval, so the structure behind them can dry.
Air movers and dehumidifiers run while the crew returns to re-read the same spots. Drying is done when readings reach the dry reference, not when the surface feels dry.
Hail rarely punches a hole in one clean spot. It bruises shingles and loosens the seal, so water enters slowly and the leak may show only after the next rain. This is the most common storm call in spring, and it pairs with the roof leak page.
Straight-line wind pushes rain sideways, past seals that keep out a normal shower. The water lands in wall cavities and along baseboards, where it hides. Readings matter here because the room can look fine.
When a downpour backs up gutters or pools against a slab edge, water comes in at doors and low spots. Ground-level water is treated more cautiously than roof water, and a flood-level event moves into flood damage cleanup.
Storm jobs vary widely because one house may need a tarp and a few fans while another needs ceilings opened in three rooms. The figures below come from published cost guides for the Dallas-Fort Worth area and are only a rough frame.
| Job | Typical range | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Minor damage, one room, extraction and drying with minimal repair | $500–$1,500 | A cost page for Greater Dallas-Fort Worth; a small ceiling leak often lands here |
| Moderate multi-room damage | $1,500–$3,500 | Typical for a roof leak that reached a ceiling and a wall |
| Severe, whole-floor damage | $3,500–$7,000+ | Often includes contents handling and several days of equipment |
| Standing water extraction, per square foot | $3–$7 | Depends on depth, access and water category |
| Air mover, per unit per day | $22–$50 | A wet ceiling and wall can need several units |
| Commercial dehumidifier (LGR), per unit per day | $75–$150 | Humid North Texas air often calls for more than one |
These are typical estimates for Kaufman County in 2026, drawn from published cost pages, not a price list. Tarping and repairs are quoted on their own. The crew confirms the number on site, and you approve the emergency stage before equipment is set.
If it's an emergency, call now. For non-urgent storm damage restoration, send the form and we'll call you back.
A good deal of the housing around Terrell, Kaufman and Crandall sits on flat or gently rolling prairie, so a hard rain has few places to go. Gentle slopes mean runoff pools at foundations, garage doors and the low corner of a lot instead of draining off. After the October 28, 2023 event, in which county emergency management reported 10 to 12 inches of rain in about eight hours, roads, drains and ditches could not handle it, and that sort of rainfall is a different class of problem from a normal storm.
Rural properties add their own wrinkles. Older farmhouses and outbuildings near Poetry, Lawrence and College Mound often have roofs that have weathered many seasons, and a long gravel drive can wash out so that a crew's truck has to work around it. Tell the person who answers where the house sits and how the road runs so the right gear is sent.
Terrell sits about 25 miles east of Dallas on I-20 and US-80, and a front that crosses the metroplex can carry on into Kaufman, Rockwall and Hunt counties within the same evening. A storm that hits Forney in the afternoon may reach Terrell soon after, which is why calls often come in clusters. Phones are answered 24/7, and a crew is dispatched as fast as one is available, so it helps to call early rather than wait for the second round.
How the crew dries wet attics, ceilings and walls after a hail or wind leak, and who repairs the roof itself.
Floodwater removal, mud cleanup and drying for homes hit by flash floods and heavy rain in Kaufman County.
Pumping and extraction of standing water after a supply-line failure, appliance leak or storm, with drying to follow.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
After hail, check ceilings and the attic for water, move belongings, put a bucket under drips and photograph the damage.
No. A roofer repairs or replaces shingles, flashing and decking. The crew can tarp or board up a damaged opening as a temporary cover, then remove wet materials and dry what the water reached. Repairs after drying are quoted separately.
Phones are answered 24/7 and a crew is dispatched as fast as one is available. After a big storm many homes call at once, so no arrival time can be promised. Tell the person who answers about any active leak so it can be prioritized.
Take photos and video first, then protect the property from further damage, because most policies expect that. Ask your insurer what it needs before you throw anything away. Moisture readings from the crew can be shared along with your own photos.
Sometimes the batts can dry, but compressed or soaked insulation usually has to be removed so the decking and ceiling below can dry. A moisture meter and a look at the material tell the crew which case you have.
No. Bruised shingles and cracked seals can be hard to see, and a leak may appear only after later rain. If a ceiling stain appears after a hailstorm, a roofer should look at the roof and the crew should check the attic and wall readings.
Ground-level water, such as runoff crossing a threshold, is treated with more caution than rain through a roof because it may carry soil and other contamination. The crew checks the category on site. Flood coverage is a separate policy from a standard homeowners one.