Ice dam risk in Fortuna, CA
Ice dams in Fortuna, CA: how often
0.0 dam days a winter
Almost never. An ordinary house in Fortuna sees 0.0 days a winter when an ice dam can form, because snow rarely stays on a roof long enough below freezing.
Fortuna averages 1 inch of snow a year and about 0 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 Fortuna?
- 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.
Fortuna winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| February | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| March | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Fortuna next to nearby towns
Fortuna ranks 353 of 376 California cities here for ice-dam days, behind Truckee at 36.3 days.
- Eureka, CA 15 mi, 0.0 days
- Arcata, CA 19 mi, 0.0 days
- Shasta Lake, CA 93 mi, 0.0 days
- Redding, CA 93 mi, 0.0 days
- Anderson, CA 97 mi, 0.0 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Grizzly Creek Sp, 14.1 miles from Fortuna. 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.