Ice dam risk in Canton, IL
Will your roof get ice dams in Canton, IL?
10.4 dam days a winter
Moderate risk. On an ordinary house in Canton, conditions for an ice dam come on about 10.4 days in a normal winter, mostly in January and February.
Canton averages 28 inches of snow a year and about 36 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 Canton
| Attic | Dam days | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Air-sealed and well insulated | 6.0 | Moderate |
| Typical, some insulation, not air-sealed | 10.4 | Moderate |
| Older or poorly insulated, warm attic | 15.9 | High |
Sealing and insulating a typical attic takes out about 4.4 days a winter here. It does not move the risk band, but it shortens every dam. An older house with a warm attic should expect closer to 15.9 days.
Preventing ice dams on a Canton roof
- Air-seal the attic floor: the gaps around the hatch, light fixtures, plumbing stacks and the top plates of interior walls. This is the fix that removes the cause, and it usually costs less than a season of contractor ice removal.
- Rake the bottom three or four feet of roof after any storm that leaves more than about six inches, from the ground with a roof rake.
Which to spend on first: air sealing or heat cable.
Canton winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9.7 | 14.2 | 4.8 |
| February | 5.8 | 8.8 | 2.5 |
| March | 3.2 | 3.1 | 0.6 |
| April | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| November | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.2 |
| December | 6.9 | 7.9 | 2.3 |
Canton next to nearby towns
Canton ranks 175 of 225 Illinois cities here for ice-dam days, behind Arlington Heights at 21.5 days.
- Pekin, IL 22 mi, 10.3 days
- Peoria, IL 26 mi, 10.3 days
- East Peoria, IL 27 mi, 10.3 days
- Morton, IL 30 mi, 12.1 days
- Galesburg, IL 32 mi, 13.8 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Havana, 18.1 miles from Canton. 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.
- Snow-on-the-ground counts come from a second, nearby station, because the closest one does not record them.