The short answer
Not safely, and a good roofer will not try. Strong gusts can throw a roofer off a ladder, blow loose tiles and sheets about, and make it impossible to fix a covering down properly. What can happen in the meantime is inside work: containing water, isolating electrics, photographing damage. A make-safe goes on as soon as the wind drops enough for the work to be done properly.
Waiting for the wind to ease is not the same as waiting for the leak to fix itself, and there is plenty you can do while the weather passes.
Why roofers wait for calmer weather
Working at height in high winds is dangerous for the roofer, for anyone below and for the house. A ladder that is steady in a breeze can move in a gust. A sheet of membrane or a tarpaulin held out to be fixed catches the wind like a sail. Tiles and slates lifted off for a repair can be taken away before they are secured.
Is it only about safety?
No. The work also has to be done properly. Mortar and adhesives need dry, still conditions to set. Lead needs to be dressed in place carefully. A repair rushed in a gale can fail in the next one, which wastes your money and leaves the roof weaker than before. So the wait protects both the person on the ladder and the quality of the job.
The sensible rule is that when wind makes the work unsafe, it stops. Nobody should pressure a roofer to go up when the weather says no. If someone offers to start straight away in a gale, ask why they are happy to take a risk with the roof and their own safety.
What can be done from inside meanwhile
When the wind is up and rain is coming through, the work moves indoors. The aim is to limit the damage until a make-safe can be fitted from outside.
What should I do first?
Put buckets under the drips, with a towel at the bottom to stop splashing. Move furniture, rugs and electrical items away from the wet area. Lay towels along the skirting where water runs down a wall. When the drip is near wiring, flick the relevant breaker at the consumer unit and ring an electrician, as our answer on a roof leak near a light fitting explains.
Look in the loft only when the hatch is within easy reach and the boards are safe. Use a torch, stand on the joists and keep your head clear of the underside of the roof, where slates can lift. Photograph any water, any daylight showing through the roof and any damaged timber. Those photographs help a roofer plan the first visit.
If a ceiling is bulging, keep out of the room beneath it and read our page on a bulging ceiling with a water leak.
Dealing with damage from the ground
You can see a lot without leaving the garden. Walk round the house, keeping back from the walls if pieces look loose above, and scan for fallen tiles, slipped ridge tiles, flashing hanging free or a gutter dragged off the fascia, the board at the eaves.
What should I do about fallen pieces?
Keep children and animals out of the drop zone, the strip of ground beside the wall where tiles and chimney pieces land. Do not collect pieces until the wind has dropped, because more can come down. Photograph the pieces where they lie and keep them, as a roofer can use them to match the covering.
If a large amount has gone, a chimney is leaning or the roof is open to the sky, treat it as an emergency, and read our guide to when a roof problem is an emergency. Report anything that could fall onto a path or road to Somerset Building Control on 0300 303 7790.
For anything that is still intact, leave it. A loose tile on a high slope is best fixed by someone with the right access, once the wind has dropped.
What happens when the wind drops
As soon as conditions allow, the make-safe goes on. That can be a temporary cover over an opening, a refixed tile, or a patch of membrane. A make-safe goes on first, then the survey shows what the storm found.
Will the repair be permanent?
Sometimes, and sometimes not. One displaced slate or a split ridge tile can be mended in a single visit. A larger area of damage, or wet timbers, needs more work. Our answer on whether a roof leak can be fixed on the first visit explains what decides it.
Gusts often follow the first storm, so a temporary repair has to be fixed more firmly than it would be on a still day. A roofer will use battens or weights to hold a sheet down, and check it after the next bout of weather. If the damage is covered by insurance, keep the receipts and photographs.
Describe what you can see and send photographs. When conditions allow, the survey brings pictures of the damage and one written price. More on our emergency roof repairs page.
More on repairs in strong wind
How strong does the wind have to be before work stops?
No single figure suits every job, since the roof, the access and the task all change the answer. The test is whether the roofer, the ladder and the materials can be kept steady. If a gust makes a ladder move or lifts a sheet, work stops until the wind settles.
Can a neighbour or relative climb up to fix a tile quickly?
It is not worth the risk. Falls from roofs and ladders cause serious injuries, and a wet, windy day makes them more likely. Contain the water indoors, photograph the damage and leave the roof work to a roofer with proper access once conditions allow.
The full picture: Emergency and general roof repairs in Taunton ยท More short answers