Ice dam risk in Hugo, MN
Ice dams in Hugo, MN: how often
36.9 dam days a winter
Severe risk. On an ordinary house in Hugo, conditions for an ice dam come on about 36.9 days in a normal winter, mostly in January and February.
Hugo averages 52 inches of snow a year and about 106 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 Hugo
| Attic | Dam days | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Air-sealed and well insulated | 17.1 | High |
| Typical, some insulation, not air-sealed | 36.9 | Severe |
| Older or poorly insulated, warm attic | 61.7 | Severe |
Sealing and insulating a typical attic takes out about 19.8 days a winter here. It drops the risk from severe to high. An older house with a warm attic should expect closer to 61.7 days.
What to do about ice dams in Hugo
- 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.
- Heat cable is worth pricing here even on a sealed house, along the eave and in the gutters and downspouts it drains into.
Running 60 feet of 5 W/ft cable whenever snow lies below freezing would use about 357 kWh a winter in Hugo, roughly $61 at 17 cents a kWh.
Which to spend on first: air sealing or heat cable.
Hugo winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9.6 | 29.1 | 12.3 |
| February | 9.3 | 26.4 | 9.8 |
| March | 9.2 | 18.5 | 4.6 |
| April | 3.7 | 3.1 | 0.3 |
| October | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| November | 7.4 | 6.9 | 1.6 |
| December | 11.8 | 21.7 | 8.3 |
Hugo next to nearby towns
Hugo ranks 40 of 103 Minnesota cities here for ice-dam days, behind Hermantown at 52.9 days.
- Forest Lake, MN 6 mi, 36.9 days
- Lino Lakes, MN 7 mi, 39.9 days
- White Bear Lake, MN 7 mi, 22.8 days
- Vadnais Heights, MN 9 mi, 22.8 days
- Stillwater, MN 10 mi, 22.8 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Forest Lake 5NE, 12.0 miles from Hugo. 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.