Ice dam risk in Jacksonville, AR
Ice dams in Jacksonville, AR: how often
0.3 dam days a winter
Almost never. An ordinary house in Jacksonville sees 0.3 days a winter when an ice dam can form, because snow rarely stays on a roof long enough below freezing.
Jacksonville averages 4 inches of snow a year and about 3 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 Jacksonville?
- 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.
Jacksonville winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.1 |
| February | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.1 |
| March | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| November | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 |
Jacksonville next to nearby towns
Jacksonville ranks 18 of 39 Arkansas cities here for ice-dam days, behind Springdale at 1.2 days.
- Sherwood, AR 5 mi, 0.3 days
- North Little Rock, AR 9 mi, 0.3 days
- Cabot, AR 9 mi, 0.2 days
- Maumelle, AR 15 mi, 0.3 days
- Little Rock, AR 17 mi, 0.3 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Little Rock, 7.9 miles from Jacksonville. 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.