Ice dam risk in Lubbock, TX
Will your roof get ice dams in Lubbock, TX?
0.7 dam days a winter
Almost never. An ordinary house in Lubbock sees 0.7 days a winter when an ice dam can form, because snow rarely stays on a roof long enough below freezing.
Lubbock averages 7 inches of snow a year and about 4 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 Lubbock?
- 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.
Lubbock winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.6 | 1.2 | 0.2 |
| February | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.1 |
| March | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| April | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| October | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| November | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| December | 2.4 | 1.3 | 0.2 |
Lubbock next to nearby towns
Lubbock ranks 9 of 252 Texas cities here for ice-dam days, behind Pampa at 2.6 days.
- Levelland, TX 27 mi, 1.0 days
- Plainview, TX 44 mi, 1.0 days
- Snyder, TX 81 mi, 0.1 days
- Hereford, TX 92 mi, 2.5 days
- Hobbs, NM 93 mi, 0.1 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Lubbock, 7.7 miles from Lubbock. 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.