Wind damage is a highly controversial subject.
Many home owners experience “wind damage” to their homes without realizing it. The most common outward sign of wind damage is water invasion in the form of water stains on ceilings and walls. A home owner may find stains on his ceiling but no missing shingles, or multiple water stains with a corresponding missing shingle or two, but more stains elsewhere where there are no missing shingles. A water stain or two on the ceiling can be a sign of “the tip of the iceberg”. Where there are two stains on the ceiling, there can be many times that number in the attic. One may ask, “Why should I care how many stains there are in the attic?” The answer is simple, mold. The attic is made up of cellulose products (wood and sheet rock). All of which are food for mold. Add water leaks from blowing rain and you have an environment for fungal growth. Allow this to go on for long enough and it will almost always permeate the interior of the home via “air wash” for rising barometric pressures from periodic high fronts.
This same condition can and does occur as the home “rocks” from severe winds. It is difficult for the average person to realize how much force is created by wind. One only has to consider that wind caught in 3000 square feet of canvas was used to push 110 ton (220,000 pounds) ships at the speed of 16 knots (18 miles per hour).
If high wind can push a ship that fast, it can “rock” a home enough to open up almost every caulk joint on the outside of a home and drive in enough water to set up the same type of mold cell in walls that can be found in the aforementioned attic example.
If you are experiencing water stains on ceilings or walls but are unsure why, you may want a second opinion as to the cause and origin of the problem.