Ice dam risk in Clovis, NM
Will your roof get ice dams in Clovis, NM?
2.1 dam days a winter
Low risk. On an ordinary house in Clovis, conditions for an ice dam come on about 2.1 days in a normal winter, mostly in January and December.
Clovis averages 13 inches of snow a year and about 12 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 Clovis
| Attic | Dam days | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Air-sealed and well insulated | 1.8 | Low |
| Typical, some insulation, not air-sealed | 2.1 | Low |
| Older or poorly insulated, warm attic | 2.4 | Low |
The attic matters less in Clovis than in colder towns: there are only 0.3 days a winter between a typical attic and a sealed one.
What to do about ice dams in Clovis
- Check the gutters before the first snow and clear them, so meltwater has somewhere to go. If you see icicles thicker than a finger along the eave after a storm, that is the early sign to look at the attic.
Snowy places are not always the worst: why snowfall misleads.
Clovis winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.3 | 3.6 | 0.8 |
| February | 1.6 | 1.8 | 0.3 |
| March | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.1 |
| April | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| October | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| November | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0.1 |
| December | 3.3 | 3.6 | 0.8 |
Clovis next to nearby towns
Clovis ranks 4 of 19 New Mexico cities here for ice-dam days, behind Gallup at 6.1 days.
- Portales, NM 20 mi, 0.6 days
- Hereford, TX 52 mi, 2.5 days
- Levelland, TX 76 mi, 1.0 days
- Canyon, TX 82 mi, 1.0 days
- Plainview, TX 86 mi, 1.0 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Clovis, 0.7 miles from Clovis. 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.