Ice dam risk in Fergus Falls, MN
Ice dams in Fergus Falls, MN: how often
47.3 dam days a winter
Severe risk. On an ordinary house in Fergus Falls, conditions for an ice dam come on about 47.3 days in a normal winter, mostly in January and February.
Fergus Falls averages 50 inches of snow a year and about 124 days with snow on the ground. Snow that lies that long is what turns a little attic heat into a ridge of ice at the eave. 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 Fergus Falls
| Attic | Dam days | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Air-sealed and well insulated | 17.1 | High |
| Typical, some insulation, not air-sealed | 47.3 | Severe |
| Older or poorly insulated, warm attic | 85.0 | Severe |
Sealing and insulating a typical attic takes out about 30.2 days a winter here. It drops the risk from severe to high. An older house with a warm attic should expect closer to 85.0 days.
What to do about ice dams in Fergus Falls
- 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.
- At the next reroof, ask for ice-and-water membrane under the shingles from the eave to at least 24 inches inside the wall line. It does not stop a dam; it stops the leak when one forms.
- Heat cable is worth pricing here even on a sealed house, along the eave and in the gutters and downspouts it drains into.
Running 60 feet of 5 W/ft cable whenever snow lies below freezing would use about 544 kWh a winter in Fergus Falls, roughly $92 at 17 cents a kWh.
Which to spend on first: air sealing or heat cable.
Fergus Falls winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11.4 | 29.7 | 13.7 |
| February | 7.7 | 26.7 | 11.5 |
| March | 7.2 | 25.1 | 7.6 |
| April | 4.1 | 7.2 | 1.0 |
| October | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.1 |
| November | 6.9 | 9.4 | 2.8 |
| December | 10.7 | 24.5 | 10.6 |
Fergus Falls next to nearby towns
Fergus Falls ranks 6 of 103 Minnesota cities here for ice-dam days, behind Hermantown at 52.9 days.
- Detroit Lakes, MN 38 mi, 46.7 days
- Alexandria, MN 44 mi, 40.8 days
- Moorhead, MN 51 mi, 43.6 days
- Fargo, ND 54 mi, 43.6 days
- West Fargo, ND 56 mi, 41.7 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Rothsay, 16.9 miles from Fergus Falls. 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.