On 21 February 2023 the modelled gust at Seal Beach reached about 44 mph, a level below the 58 mph severe threshold but strong enough to pull at shingles, flashing, or anything already loose, which is why roofs with prior wear were the ones worth checking afterward, not roofs in general.
What does a 44 mph gust actually do to a roof
According to the Open-Meteo ERA5 reanalysis archive, the daily maximum gust modelled at Seal Beach on 21 February 2023 was about 44 mph. That number sits in a notable middle band: well under the 58 mph line that counts as severe, but high enough to work on any part of a roof that was not fully seated to begin with.
A gust in that range will not peel a sound roof apart. What it does is test every weak point already present, a shingle tab with failed adhesive, a ridge cap with a popped nail, flashing around a vent that has started to lift. Those are the places that move first, and they are the places worth looking at after a day like this one, rather than the roof as a whole.
Why 44 mph is not the same as a severe storm
The 58 mph threshold is the dividing line used to separate a notable wind day from a severe one. At about 44 mph, 21 February 2023 falls short of that mark by a wide margin. This was not a day that strips roofs outright or scatters tiles across a yard.
The practical reading is narrower. It is a day that finds existing weaknesses rather than creates sweeping new damage. A roof installed well and recently maintained should show nothing from a gust this size. A roof with any history of lifted shingles, old flashing repairs, or loose ridge tiles is the one where this kind of wind turns a small problem into a visible one.
How reliable is a 44 mph figure for one address
Gust figures here come from the Open-Meteo ERA5 reanalysis archive, which models wind at the city location rather than reading it off a mast on a specific street. That distinction matters. The 44 mph figure is a strong basis for comparing one storm day against another and for knowing which dates in a given year were worth a look afterward, but it is not a measurement taken at a particular roofline.
Local terrain, building height, and exposure to open ground can all push the wind actually hitting a given roof higher or lower than the modelled figure for the city as a whole. Treat 44 mph as a useful flag for 21 February 2023, not as a precise reading for any one property.
What's worth checking after a day like 21 February 2023
According to the storm record for Seal Beach, 21 February 2023 is on the list of days worth checking roofs after. That is a reasonable response to a 44 mph gust day, not an overreaction. The places to look are ridge caps, flashing at chimneys and vents, and any shingle edge near a roof corner, since corners see the highest uplift in any wind event.
If nothing looks disturbed, there is likely nothing to do. If a tab is missing, a cap is sitting at an odd angle, or flashing has pulled away from a seam, that is the kind of damage this gust band produces and it is worth getting looked at before the next storm finds the same spot. A reader can submit the address and a contractor covering that ZIP code can follow up directly.