Ice dam risk in Colonial Heights, VA
Will your roof get ice dams in Colonial Heights, VA?
0.1 dam days a winter
Almost never. An ordinary house in Colonial Heights sees 0.1 days a winter when an ice dam can form, because snow rarely stays on a roof long enough below freezing.
Colonial Heights averages 4 inches of snow a year and about 1 day 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 Colonial Heights?
- 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.
Colonial Heights winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2.1 | 0.5 | 0.1 |
| February | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
Colonial Heights next to nearby towns
Colonial Heights ranks 39 of 39 Virginia cities here for ice-dam days, behind Winchester at 4.7 days.
- Petersburg, VA 4 mi, 0.1 days
- Hopewell, VA 6 mi, 0.1 days
- Richmond, VA 19 mi, 1.1 days
- Williamsburg, VA 38 mi, 0.6 days
- Newport News, VA 50 mi, 0.4 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Hopewell, 7.1 miles from Colonial Heights. 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.