Ice dam risk in Bedford, IN
Will your roof get ice dams in Bedford, IN?
5.2 dam days a winter
Moderate risk. On an ordinary house in Bedford, conditions for an ice dam come on about 5.2 days in a normal winter, mostly in January and February.
Bedford averages 16 inches of snow a year and about 21 days with snow on the ground. Most of it comes and goes within a few days. 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 Bedford
| Attic | Dam days | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Air-sealed and well insulated | 3.4 | Low |
| Typical, some insulation, not air-sealed | 5.2 | Moderate |
| Older or poorly insulated, warm attic | 7.5 | Moderate |
The attic matters less in Bedford than in colder towns: there are only 1.8 days a winter between a typical attic and a sealed one.
What to do about ice dams in Bedford
- Check the gutters before the first snow and clear them, so meltwater has somewhere to go. If you see icicles thicker than a finger along the eave after a storm, that is the early sign to look at the attic.
Snowy places are not always the worst: why snowfall misleads.
Bedford winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.1 | 7.7 | 2.3 |
| February | 4.7 | 6.0 | 1.5 |
| March | 2.1 | 1.9 | 0.3 |
| April | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| November | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| December | 4.2 | 4.7 | 1.1 |
Bedford next to nearby towns
Bedford ranks 74 of 88 Indiana cities here for ice-dam days, behind Plymouth at 15.9 days.
- Bloomington, IN 21 mi, 5.1 days
- Seymour, IN 33 mi, 5.0 days
- Martinsville, IN 38 mi, 5.1 days
- Washington, IN 39 mi, 2.0 days
- Columbus, IN 39 mi, 4.8 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Oolitic Purdue Ex Fm, 3.9 miles from Bedford. 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.