Ice dam risk in Fountain, CO
Will your roof get ice dams in Fountain, CO?
5.4 dam days a winter
Moderate risk. On an ordinary house in Fountain, conditions for an ice dam come on about 5.4 days in a normal winter, mostly in December and January.
Fountain averages 33 inches of snow a year and about 23 days with snow on the ground. Plenty falls, but it tends to melt off between storms, which keeps the count lower than the snowfall suggests. That gap is why snowfall alone misleads.
What your attic does to that number in Fountain
| Attic | Dam days | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Air-sealed and well insulated | 4.3 | Low |
| Typical, some insulation, not air-sealed | 5.4 | Moderate |
| Older or poorly insulated, warm attic | 6.8 | Moderate |
The attic matters less in Fountain than in colder towns: there are only 1.1 days a winter between a typical attic and a sealed one.
What to do about ice dams in Fountain
- 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.
More on when a roof rake is worth it.
Fountain winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.9 | 4.4 | 1.2 |
| February | 4.6 | 4.4 | 1.2 |
| March | 5.7 | 3.0 | 0.6 |
| April | 5.5 | 1.8 | 0.2 |
| May | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| September | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| October | 2.5 | 0.9 | 0.1 |
| November | 4.4 | 3.3 | 0.7 |
| December | 4.1 | 4.5 | 1.3 |
Fountain next to nearby towns
Fountain ranks 52 of 53 Colorado cities here for ice-dam days, behind Steamboat Springs at 51.0 days.
- Colorado Springs, CO 13 mi, 5.4 days
- Monument, CO 28 mi, 22.2 days
- Pueblo, CO 29 mi, 1.7 days
- Cañon City, CO 34 mi, 5.6 days
- Castle Rock, CO 48 mi, 11.5 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, 8.3 miles from Fountain. 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.
- The nearest weather station sits at a noticeably different elevation from Fountain, so the snow figures may run high or low for the town itself.