Ice dam risk in Fernley, NV
Ice dams in Fernley, NV: how often
0.4 dam days a winter
Almost never. An ordinary house in Fernley sees 0.4 days a winter when an ice dam can form, because snow rarely stays on a roof long enough below freezing.
Fernley averages 5 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 Fernley?
- 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.
Fernley winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.2 |
| February | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| March | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| November | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| December | 1.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
Fernley next to nearby towns
Fernley ranks 5 of 10 Nevada cities here for ice-dam days, behind Elko at 14.0 days.
- Sparks, NV 28 mi, 1.3 days
- Reno, NV 35 mi, 3.1 days
- Carson, NV 41 mi, 1.9 days
- Truckee, CA 56 mi, 36.3 days
- South Lake Tahoe, CA 61 mi, 2.1 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Fallon Exp Station, 23.0 miles from Fernley. 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.