Ice dam risk in Glens Falls, NY
Will your roof get ice dams in Glens Falls, NY?
27.7 dam days a winter
High risk. On an ordinary house in Glens Falls, conditions for an ice dam come on about 27.7 days in a normal winter, mostly in January and February.
Glens Falls averages 60 inches of snow a year and about 84 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 Glens Falls
| Attic | Dam days | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Air-sealed and well insulated | 14.0 | Moderate |
| Typical, some insulation, not air-sealed | 27.7 | High |
| Older or poorly insulated, warm attic | 44.8 | Severe |
Sealing and insulating a typical attic takes out about 13.7 days a winter here. It drops the risk from high to moderate. An older house with a warm attic should expect closer to 44.8 days.
Preventing ice dams on a Glens Falls roof
- 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.
Which to spend on first: air sealing or heat cable.
Glens Falls winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15.8 | 23.1 | 9.2 |
| February | 13.2 | 23.0 | 8.1 |
| March | 14.0 | 16.7 | 4.5 |
| April | 2.0 | 1.8 | 0.2 |
| May | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| October | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| November | 3.1 | 3.2 | 0.6 |
| December | 11.9 | 16.2 | 5.2 |
Glens Falls next to nearby towns
Glens Falls ranks 5 of 90 New York cities here for ice-dam days, behind Utica at 46.1 days.
- Saratoga Springs, NY 18 mi, 24.7 days
- Cohoes, NY 37 mi, 17.0 days
- Amsterdam, NY 38 mi, 24.7 days
- Schenectady, NY 38 mi, 17.0 days
- Rutland, VT 39 mi, 28.5 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Conklingville Dam, 14.1 miles from Glens 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.