Ice dam risk in Chapel Hill, NC
Ice dams in Chapel Hill, NC: how often
0.0 dam days a winter
Almost never. An ordinary house in Chapel Hill sees 0.0 days a winter when an ice dam can form, because snow rarely stays on a roof long enough below freezing.
Chapel Hill averages 3 inches 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 Chapel Hill?
- 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.
Chapel Hill winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| February | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| March | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| November | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Chapel Hill next to nearby towns
Chapel Hill ranks 80 of 91 North Carolina cities here for ice-dam days, behind Boone at 4.9 days.
- Carrboro, NC 3 mi, 0.0 days
- Durham, NC 9 mi, 0.5 days
- Morrisville, NC 13 mi, 0.5 days
- Cary, NC 16 mi, 0.5 days
- Apex, NC 17 mi, 0.5 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Chapel Hill 2 W, 2.5 miles from Chapel Hill. 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.