Other than your inspector looking like an Eskimo, there are 2 main things that change with an inspection in winter.

The air conditioner

The first one is the air conditioner. On days that temperatures are below 60°F the air conditioner likely won’t be tested, because operating the unit at those temperatures can damage it. Instead, it will be visually inspected and any deficiencies found noted in the report.

Here’s the part that catches people out. Central Texas winters swing around a lot, so this isn’t a whole-season thing, it’s a that-particular-morning thing. A December inspection at 70°F gets a full cooling test. The same house the following week at 45°F doesn’t. If the cooling system is a big question mark on a house you’re buying, it’s worth watching the forecast when you schedule.

The roof covering

The other item is the roof covering. At low temperatures and wet conditions, ice and snow can make a roof very slippery. Therefore an inspector may have no choice but to inspect the roof from the ground or with another method instead of walking on it, for their own safety. We don’t get many of those days around here, but we do get them, and a wet roof on a cold morning is not worth anybody getting hurt over. On those days a drone usually gets us most of what we’d have gotten on foot.

So make sure that on cold days you check with your inspector on whether or not they could normally inspect these items so you are comfortable with the level of information that you or your clients have about the property. If something did get limited by the weather, that’s a good candidate for a re-inspection later on.

If you or a friend are in need of a high-value inspector, Panther Inspections can help.

Updated July 2026