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Winter here is mild, but it brings the longest rains of the year. Here is what to check before they arrive.
Before December, clear valleys, gutters and scuppers, close or cover your evaporative cooler, and check ceilings and the attic for anything the Halloween weekend rain left behind. Flat roofs that hold water and tile roofs with aging underlayment are the two that winter rain finds. Winter is also one of the better times of year to schedule a repair or re-roof in Tucson.
Our summer storms are violent. Our winter storms are slow, and slow is what finds the weak spots.
Tucson gets two rainy seasons. The monsoon brings short, intense afternoon storms. Winter storms arrive from the Pacific and tend to rain steadily for hours or days. That kind of rain keeps water on a roof long enough to soak through old felt, back up behind blocked drains and creep under flashing. The record rain over Halloween weekend was an early preview, and if your roof struggled then, start with our guide to leaks after heavy rain.
Cold matters less here than in most of the country, but it is not nothing. Valley nights dip near freezing a handful of times most winters, and higher communities such as Benson, Sierra Vista and the foothills see more of it. Freeze-thaw cycles open small cracks in sealant, flashing and coatings that a summer of UV has already weakened.
Most of this is cheap or free, and all of it is easier before the rain starts.
Fall leaf drop and storm debris pack into the places water needs to leave. A blocked scupper on a flat roof turns a normal rain into ponding.
Shut the damper or fit a cover, and drain the water line. An open cooler duct is a cold-air leak all winter, and the cooler stand is one of the most common leak points on Tucson roofs.
After the next rain, any area still holding water after 48 hours needs attention. Ponding breaks down coating and finds seams.
Flat roof coatings in Tucson are generally due every 5 to 10 years. If nobody remembers the last one, it is worth an inspection before the rains.
After Halloween weekend, look again for stains, damp insulation and marks on the deck. Some leaks take weeks to show.
If you can see the underlayment under the first course and it is black, brittle or crumbling, that layer is failing. Tile can last 50 years here; the felt under it usually does not.
Each kind of roof has its own winter weak spot.
| Roof type | Watch for | What usually fixes it |
|---|---|---|
| Concrete or clay tile | Leaks in long rain only | Often failed underlayment. Lift and relay if the tile is sound. |
| Flat, coated | Ponding, cracked coating | Clear drainage, repair and recoat in dry weather. |
| Flat, hot mop or built-up | Blisters, open seams at edges | Targeted repair, or replacement if the membrane is saturated. |
| Asphalt shingle | Lifted tabs, granule loss | Repair if young. Shingles here often last 12 to 25 years. |
| Any roof with a cooler | Stains near the cooler stand | Reflash the stand and seal the duct penetration. |
Repairs to coatings and membranes need dry days. We schedule them between storms rather than rushing them into wet weather.
Usually, yes. It is one of the better windows of the year.
Summer heat limits how long crews can safely work on a roof, and monsoon season makes scheduling a gamble. Winter days are mild, and most of them are dry. We open only as much roof each day as we can dry in by evening, and we watch the forecast so a tear-off never sits open in rain.
Coatings are the exception to plan around. Most need dry weather and mild temperatures to cure, so winter coating work goes on the warm, dry stretches between storms. If your flat roof is due, the earlier in the season the better.
Scheduling now also puts you ahead of the spring rush, when homeowners who found leaks over the winter and everyone preparing for monsoon season are calling at once.
Short answers to what Tucson homeowners ask us in November and December.
Yes. Our winter storms rain longer than monsoon storms, and long rain is what finds failing underlayment, blocked drains and dried-out flashing. Clearing drainage and closing the cooler before December prevents most winter calls we get.
Yes. Most winter days here are dry and mild, which is good working weather. We dry in every section the same day and schedule around rain in the forecast.
On the right days. Coatings need dry weather and mild temperatures to cure properly, so we schedule them for warm, dry stretches and never ahead of forecast rain.
Yes. Close the damper or fit a cover and drain the supply line. It keeps warm air in, keeps rain out of the duct, and gives us a chance to spot problems at the cooler stand, a common leak point.
A few freezes rarely damage a sound roof. Repeated freeze-thaw cycles, more common in higher communities like Benson and Sierra Vista, can open cracks in sealant, flashing and old coating that let water in.
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