Ice dam risk in Eugene, OR
Ice dams in Eugene, OR: how often
0.2 dam days a winter
Almost never. An ordinary house in Eugene sees 0.2 days a winter when an ice dam can form, because snow rarely stays on a roof long enough below freezing.
Eugene averages 3 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 Eugene?
- 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.
Eugene winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| February | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.1 |
| March | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| December | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.1 |
Eugene next to nearby towns
Eugene ranks 11 of 57 Oregon cities here for ice-dam days, behind Klamath Falls at 9.8 days.
- Springfield, OR 7 mi, 0.0 days
- Cottage Grove, OR 18 mi, 0.2 days
- Sweet Home, OR 32 mi, 0.0 days
- Lebanon, OR 34 mi, 0.0 days
- Corvallis, OR 36 mi, 0.1 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Cottage Grove 2E, 18.9 miles from Eugene. 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.