Los Angeles is dry for most of the year and then gets the bulk of its rain in a short winter window. That pattern is exactly why roofs here get caught out. A roof can sit untested for months, developing small weak spots under the sun, and then face everything at once when the first real storm arrives. The homeowners who sail through the rainy season are the ones who spend a little time getting ready in the dry weeks beforehand. Here is how.
This is the highest-value task, so start here. Over the dry months, leaves and debris collect in gutters and roof valleys, and when the rain finally comes, that debris dams the water so it backs up under the roof edge and finds its way inside. Clearing the gutters and valleys before the storms lets water do what it is supposed to do, which is leave the roof quickly. In leafy neighborhoods this is worth doing right before the season, not months ahead.
From the ground, look for tiles that are out of line or missing and shingles that are curling or torn. A slipped tile leaves the underlayment exposed, and a torn shingle is an open door for water, so these are exactly the spots a storm will find. Resetting and replacing them in dry weather is straightforward and affordable compared with discovering the leak mid-storm, as our page on preventing leaks before the rainy season covers.
Most leaks start at the flashing around the chimney, walls, valleys, and skylights, and wind-driven rain finds those gaps first. Check for lifted or rusted flashing and for old caulk cracking at the seams, which signals a patched-over failure. If you see a stain near a chimney or skylight from a previous rain, that is a flashing problem to fix now, covered on our flashing failures page.
If you already know about a problem, a stain that showed last winter, a tile you can see is out of place, do not gamble that it holds. A known weak spot only gets worse once water finds it, as our page on delaying a repair explains. Handling it with a targeted roof repair in dry weather is the best insurance there is against a mid-storm scramble.
| Task | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Clear gutters and valleys | Water backs up if they clog |
| Reset slipped or cracked tiles | Closes open spots the storm finds |
| Check flashing at penetrations | The most common leak point |
| Trim overhanging branches | Less debris and impact damage |
| Get a pre-season inspection | Finds what you cannot see |
Ground-level checks catch a lot, but a roof can look fine from below and still have a worn flashing or a slipped tile you cannot see. If it has been a few years, or if your roof is older, a written roof inspection before the season is worth it, since it finds the weak spots while there is still dry time to fix them. And if a storm does get through and you find damage afterward, our pages on storm damage signs and storm damage repair cover what comes next. A little preparation now beats a bucket under a drip in January.
Fix small spots while it is dry. Call (310) 806-5959 or request an inspection below.
Tell us about your roof and we will check it before the season and give you a written price for any work, with no obligation.