Ice dam risk in Hopkinsville, KY
How often ice dams form in Hopkinsville
0.1 dam days a winter
Almost never. An ordinary house in Hopkinsville sees 0.1 days a winter when an ice dam can form, because snow rarely stays on a roof long enough below freezing.
Hopkinsville averages 5 inches 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 Hopkinsville?
- 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.
Hopkinsville winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| February | 1.8 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| March | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| April | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Hopkinsville next to nearby towns
Hopkinsville ranks 40 of 42 Kentucky cities here for ice-dam days, behind Fort Thomas at 6.8 days.
- Clarksville, TN 20 mi, 0.1 days
- Madisonville, KY 35 mi, 0.6 days
- Springfield, TN 41 mi, 0.6 days
- Murray, KY 50 mi, 0.8 days
- Franklin, KY 51 mi, 0.1 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Hopkinsville, 2.7 miles from Hopkinsville. 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.