Ice dam risk in Athens, TN
Will your roof get ice dams in Athens, TN?
0.3 dam days a winter
Almost never. An ordinary house in Athens sees 0.3 days a winter when an ice dam can form, because snow rarely stays on a roof long enough below freezing.
Athens averages 4 inches of snow a year and about 2 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 Athens?
- 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.
Athens winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 |
| February | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.1 |
| March | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| November | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
Athens next to nearby towns
Athens ranks 38 of 65 Tennessee cities here for ice-dam days, behind Crossville at 2.6 days.
- Cleveland, TN 24 mi, 0.1 days
- Lenoir City, TN 31 mi, 0.3 days
- Soddy-Daisy, TN 35 mi, 0.3 days
- Collegedale, TN 37 mi, 0.2 days
- Farragut, TN 38 mi, 0.3 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Athens, 2.1 miles from Athens. 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.