Ice dam risk in Alamogordo, NM
Ice dams in Alamogordo, NM: how often
0.0 dam days a winter
Almost never. An ordinary house in Alamogordo sees 0.0 days a winter when an ice dam can form, because snow rarely stays on a roof long enough below freezing.
Alamogordo averages 2 inches of snow a year and about 0 days with snow on the ground. Too little lies on the roof for long. The conditions that make a dam need all three at once: snow, cold at the eave and heat above it.
Do you need to do anything in Alamogordo?
- Nothing for ice dams. If you are buying here and an inspector mentions water at the eaves, ask what they saw: it is far more likely a gutter, flashing or drip-edge problem than ice.
Snowy places are not always the worst: why snowfall misleads.
Alamogordo winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| February | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| March | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| October | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| November | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Alamogordo next to nearby towns
Alamogordo ranks 18 of 19 New Mexico cities here for ice-dam days, behind Gallup at 6.1 days.
- Las Cruces, NM 62 mi, 0.1 days
- El Paso, TX 77 mi, 0.1 days
- Sunland Park, NM 82 mi, 0.1 days
- Horizon City, TX 84 mi, 0.1 days
- Socorro, TX 88 mi, 0.1 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Alamogordo, 2.4 miles from Alamogordo. A dam day is a day with snow on the roof and freezing at the eave while heat or sun melts the snow above it. This describes a normal winter, not this one.
- The nearest weather station sits at a noticeably different elevation from Alamogordo, so the snow figures may run high or low for the town itself.