Ice dam risk in Birmingham, AL
How often ice dams form in Birmingham
0.0 dam days a winter
Almost never. An ordinary house in Birmingham sees 0.0 days a winter when an ice dam can form, because snow rarely stays on a roof long enough below freezing.
Birmingham averages 1 inch 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 Birmingham?
- 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.
Birmingham winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| February | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| March | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Birmingham next to nearby towns
Birmingham ranks 13 of 66 Alabama cities here for ice-dam days, behind Fort Payne at 0.3 days.
- Mountain Brook, AL 4 mi, 0.0 days
- Homewood, AL 5 mi, 0.0 days
- Vestavia Hills, AL 6 mi, 0.0 days
- Irondale, AL 8 mi, 0.0 days
- Gardendale, AL 10 mi, 0.1 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Birmingham Airport, 4.0 miles from Birmingham. 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.