El Paso County: Colorado's Busiest Hail County

The numbers behind the county's reputation

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 756 hail events in El Paso County from 2016 through 2025, and 696 of them involve stones 1 inch or larger (NCEI Storm Events Database). Of those, 134 reached 1.75 inches and 69 reached 2 inches or more. The 1-inch reports fell on 126 different days over the decade, an average of more than 12 days a year with hail that size somewhere in the county.

Those 696 events are more than one in six of the 3,832 the database records across Colorado in the same years. The same database also lists 71 flash floods and 57 thunderstorm wind events in the county over those ten years.

Storms Colorado Springs remembers

• August 6, 2018. Hail of 2.75 inches in Colorado Springs carries a $172.8 million damage estimate, and the record notes eight people were taken to the hospital from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. The same afternoon, 4-inch hail fell at Widefield.
• June 13, 2018. Three-inch hail at Fountain comes with a $169 million estimate.
• August 5, 2023. The database logs 4-inch hail at Schriever Air Force Base and 3.25-inch hail at Fountain.
• August 9, 2004. Hail of 4.5 inches near Ramah is the largest the database records in the county from 2000 through 2025.

FEMA's major disaster declarations covering El Paso County include the High Park and Waldo Canyon wildfires in 2012, the Black Forest wildfire in 2013 and DR-4731 for severe storms, flooding and tornadoes in 2023.

Who licenses roofers here

The Pikes Peak Regional Building Department serves Colorado Springs, El Paso County, Fountain, Woodland Park, Manitou Springs, Monument, Green Mountain Falls, Palmer Lake and Calhan. Its license types page lists roofing among the single-trade work covered by the Building Contractor D (Specialty) license. To get a reroofing permit, PPRBD says the contractor's certificate of insurance must specifically show that re-roofing is included in, or not excluded from, the coverage.

You can check any company on PPRBD's contractor search, which looks up contractors by licensee or business name.

PPRBD's reroof rules

PPRBD's re-roof guidelines, revised March 5, 2024, set out the local requirements:

• Contracting or performing a reroof of more than 100 square feet without a license violates the code, unless you own the home and it is your primary residence.
• Any repair or replacement over 100 square feet needs a permit, whether a licensed contractor or the homeowner does the work.
• All existing layers must come off before a new asphalt roof goes on a residential home.
• One- and two-family homes in the City of Colorado Springs need at least a Class A roof covering, excluding solid wood products.
• Stocking materials on the driveway or roof counts as starting the project; doing it before the permit is issued brings a triple permit fee and a stop work order.
• Properties above 7,000 feet in elevation need an ice barrier.

Checking association membership too

PPRBD's search answers the local licensing question. Membership is a separate one, answered by the Colorado Roofing Association's contractor search and NRCA's member directory. Colorado's statewide contract rules, including the 72-hour right to rescind, are explained on the homepage.

Colorado Springs roofers on the National Roofing Directory

The full set of local companies is on the directory's page for roofers in Colorado Springs, CO.

For alerts when storms are building, see the Colorado storm center.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a permit to reroof in Colorado Springs?

Yes, for anything over 100 square feet. PPRBD's guidelines require a permit for repair or replacement work above that size whether a licensed contractor or the homeowner does it.

Can I reroof my own house in El Paso County?

PPRBD allows an unlicensed person to reroof only if they own the residential property and it is their primary residence. The permit is still required.

Why does the roofer have to wait for the permit before dropping off shingles?

PPRBD treats stocking roofing materials on the driveway or roof as the start of the project. Stocking before the permit is issued draws a triple permit fee and a stop work order.