Ice dam risk in Kennett, MO
Ice dams in Kennett, MO: how often
1.0 dam days a winter
Almost never. An ordinary house in Kennett sees 1.0 day a winter when an ice dam can form, because snow rarely stays on a roof long enough below freezing.
Kennett averages 7 inches of snow a year and about 5 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.
What your attic does to that number in Kennett
| Attic | Dam days | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Air-sealed and well insulated | 0.7 | Very unlikely |
| Typical, some insulation, not air-sealed | 1.0 | Very unlikely |
| Older or poorly insulated, warm attic | 1.3 | Low |
The attic matters less in Kennett than in colder towns: there are only 0.3 days a winter between a typical attic and a sealed one.
Do you need to do anything in Kennett?
- 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.
Kennett winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2.4 | 1.9 | 0.4 |
| February | 2.2 | 1.9 | 0.3 |
| March | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| October | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| November | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.2 |
Kennett next to nearby towns
Kennett ranks 74 of 80 Missouri cities here for ice-dam days, behind Maryville at 9.3 days.
- Blytheville, AR 23 mi, 0.4 days
- Paragould, AR 29 mi, 0.4 days
- Dyersburg, TN 40 mi, 0.5 days
- Poplar Bluff, MO 41 mi, 0.4 days
- Jonesboro, AR 46 mi, 0.5 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Portageville, 22.8 miles from Kennett. 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.