Ice dam risk in Glasgow, KY
Ice dams in Glasgow, KY: how often
0.9 dam days a winter
Almost never. An ordinary house in Glasgow sees 0.9 days a winter when an ice dam can form, because snow rarely stays on a roof long enough below freezing.
Glasgow averages 6 inches of snow a year and about 5 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.
What your attic does to that number in Glasgow
| Attic | Dam days | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Air-sealed and well insulated | 0.7 | Very unlikely |
| Typical, some insulation, not air-sealed | 0.9 | Very unlikely |
| Older or poorly insulated, warm attic | 1.1 | Low |
The attic matters less in Glasgow than in colder towns: there are only 0.2 days a winter between a typical attic and a sealed one.
Do you need to do anything in Glasgow?
- 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.
Glasgow winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2.2 | 2.6 | 0.5 |
| February | 1.7 | 1.7 | 0.3 |
| March | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.1 |
| December | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
Glasgow next to nearby towns
Glasgow ranks 35 of 42 Kentucky cities here for ice-dam days, behind Fort Thomas at 6.8 days.
- Bowling Green, KY 28 mi, 1.0 days
- Campbellsville, KY 39 mi, 2.5 days
- Franklin, KY 40 mi, 0.1 days
- Portland, TN 44 mi, 0.1 days
- Hartsville/Trousdale County, TN 44 mi, 0.8 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Glasgow, 1.1 miles from Glasgow. 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.