Ice dam risk in Harrison, OH
How often ice dams form in Harrison
3.6 dam days a winter
Low risk. On an ordinary house in Harrison, conditions for an ice dam come on about 3.6 days in a normal winter, mostly in January and February.
Harrison averages 11 inches of snow a year and about 15 days with snow on the ground. Most of it comes and goes within a few days. 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 Harrison
| Attic | Dam days | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Air-sealed and well insulated | 2.3 | Low |
| Typical, some insulation, not air-sealed | 3.6 | Low |
| Older or poorly insulated, warm attic | 5.2 | Moderate |
The attic matters less in Harrison than in colder towns: there are only 1.3 days a winter between a typical attic and a sealed one.
What to do about ice dams in Harrison
- Check the gutters before the first snow and clear them, so meltwater has somewhere to go. If you see icicles thicker than a finger along the eave after a storm, that is the early sign to look at the attic.
Snowy places are not always the worst: why snowfall misleads.
Harrison winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2.9 | 5.9 | 1.6 |
| February | 4.7 | 5.2 | 1.2 |
| March | 1.7 | 1.0 | 0.1 |
| November | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 2.0 | 2.8 | 0.6 |
Harrison next to nearby towns
Harrison ranks 175 of 176 Ohio cities here for ice-dam days, behind Euclid at 24.8 days.
- Fairfield, OH 14 mi, 6.8 days
- Forest Park, OH 14 mi, 6.8 days
- Hamilton, OH 15 mi, 6.8 days
- Springdale, OH 17 mi, 6.8 days
- Cincinnati, OH 17 mi, 6.8 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Cincinnati-Fernbank, 10.8 miles from Harrison. 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.