Ice dam risk in Bartlesville, OK
Ice dams in Bartlesville, OK: how often
0.9 dam days a winter
Almost never. An ordinary house in Bartlesville sees 0.9 days a winter when an ice dam can form, because snow rarely stays on a roof long enough below freezing.
Bartlesville averages 8 inches of snow a year and about 4 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.
What your attic does to that number in Bartlesville
| Attic | Dam days | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Air-sealed and well insulated | 0.7 | Very unlikely |
| Typical, some insulation, not air-sealed | 0.9 | Very unlikely |
| Older or poorly insulated, warm attic | 1.1 | Low |
The attic matters less in Bartlesville than in colder towns: there are only 0.2 days a winter between a typical attic and a sealed one.
Do you need to do anything in Bartlesville?
- 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.
Bartlesville winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.9 | 1.3 | 0.3 |
| February | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.1 |
| March | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| November | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 3.0 | 1.9 | 0.4 |
Bartlesville next to nearby towns
Bartlesville ranks 12 of 45 Oklahoma cities here for ice-dam days, behind Woodward at 2.0 days.
- Owasso, OK 32 mi, 0.9 days
- Claremore, OK 35 mi, 1.6 days
- Tulsa, OK 42 mi, 0.9 days
- Sand Springs, OK 43 mi, 0.9 days
- Broken Arrow, OK 49 mi, 0.9 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Bartlesville Municipal Airport, 4.1 miles from Bartlesville. 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.