Ice dam risk in Chattanooga, TN
How often ice dams form in Chattanooga
0.2 dam days a winter
Almost never. An ordinary house in Chattanooga sees 0.2 days a winter when an ice dam can form, because snow rarely stays on a roof long enough below freezing.
Chattanooga averages 4 inches of snow a year and about 2 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 Chattanooga?
- 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.
Chattanooga winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.1 |
| February | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| March | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| December | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
Chattanooga next to nearby towns
Chattanooga ranks 46 of 65 Tennessee cities here for ice-dam days, behind Crossville at 2.6 days.
- Red Bank, TN 4 mi, 0.2 days
- East Ridge, TN 5 mi, 0.2 days
- Fort Oglethorpe, GA 9 mi, 0.1 days
- Collegedale, TN 11 mi, 0.2 days
- Soddy-Daisy, TN 14 mi, 0.3 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Chattanooga Airport, 3.5 miles from Chattanooga. 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.