Ice dam risk in Long Branch, NJ
Will your roof get ice dams in Long Branch, NJ?
3.2 dam days a winter
Low risk. On an ordinary house in Long Branch, conditions for an ice dam come on about 3.2 days in a normal winter, mostly in February and January.
Long Branch averages 25 inches of snow a year and about 19 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 Long Branch
| Attic | Dam days | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Air-sealed and well insulated | 2.2 | Low |
| Typical, some insulation, not air-sealed | 3.2 | Low |
| Older or poorly insulated, warm attic | 4.5 | Low |
The attic matters less in Long Branch than in colder towns: there are only 1.0 day a winter between a typical attic and a sealed one.
What to do about ice dams in Long Branch
- 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.
Long Branch winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.5 | 5.9 | 1.3 |
| February | 8.5 | 6.9 | 1.3 |
| March | 4.4 | 3.6 | 0.3 |
| April | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| November | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 4.3 | 2.1 | 0.3 |
Long Branch next to nearby towns
Long Branch ranks 100 of 116 New Jersey cities here for ice-dam days, behind Hopatcong at 14.7 days.
- Eatontown, NJ 3 mi, 3.2 days
- Asbury Park, NJ 5 mi, 3.2 days
- Red Bank, NJ 5 mi, 3.2 days
- Tinton Falls, NJ 6 mi, 6.2 days
- Freehold, NJ 15 mi, 5.4 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Ny Ave V Brooklyn, 20.6 miles from Long Branch. 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.