Ice dam risk in Dearborn Heights, MI
Will your roof get ice dams in Dearborn Heights, MI?
14.2 dam days a winter
Moderate risk. On an ordinary house in Dearborn Heights, conditions for an ice dam come on about 14.2 days in a normal winter, mostly in January and February.
Dearborn Heights averages 31 inches of snow a year and about 47 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 Dearborn Heights
| Attic | Dam days | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Air-sealed and well insulated | 7.8 | Moderate |
| Typical, some insulation, not air-sealed | 14.2 | Moderate |
| Older or poorly insulated, warm attic | 22.1 | High |
Sealing and insulating a typical attic takes out about 6.4 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 22.1 days.
Preventing ice dams on a Dearborn Heights 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.
Dearborn Heights winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11.7 | 17.2 | 6.0 |
| February | 7.3 | 13.7 | 4.3 |
| March | 5.7 | 6.2 | 1.3 |
| April | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| November | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.2 |
| December | 4.6 | 8.1 | 2.2 |
Dearborn Heights next to nearby towns
Dearborn Heights ranks 70 of 90 Michigan cities here for ice-dam days, behind Sault Ste. Marie at 48.8 days.
- Garden City, MI 3 mi, 14.2 days
- Inkster, MI 3 mi, 14.1 days
- Dearborn, MI 4 mi, 14.2 days
- Westland, MI 5 mi, 14.1 days
- Livonia, MI 6 mi, 18.1 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Dearborn, 2.8 miles from Dearborn 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.
- Snow-on-the-ground counts come from a second, nearby station, because the closest one does not record them.