Ice dam risk in Bonney Lake, WA
How often ice dams form in Bonney Lake
0.5 dam days a winter
Almost never. An ordinary house in Bonney Lake sees 0.5 days a winter when an ice dam can form, because snow rarely stays on a roof long enough below freezing.
Bonney Lake averages 6 inches of snow a year and about 5 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 Bonney Lake?
- 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.
Bonney Lake winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0.2 |
| February | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| March | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| November | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.1 |
| December | 1.5 | 1.6 | 0.2 |
Bonney Lake next to nearby towns
Bonney Lake ranks 21 of 91 Washington cities here for ice-dam days, behind Spokane at 13.0 days.
- Sumner, WA 4 mi, 0.5 days
- Edgewood, WA 6 mi, 0.5 days
- Puyallup, WA 6 mi, 0.5 days
- Auburn, WA 8 mi, 0.2 days
- Enumclaw, WA 8 mi, 0.0 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Mcmillin Rsvr, 6.2 miles from Bonney Lake. 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.