Ice dam risk in McMinnville, TN
Will your roof get ice dams in McMinnville, TN?
0.5 dam days a winter
Almost never. An ordinary house in McMinnville sees 0.5 days a winter when an ice dam can form, because snow rarely stays on a roof long enough below freezing.
McMinnville 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 McMinnville?
- 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.
McMinnville winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.2 |
| February | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.1 |
| March | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| November | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.1 |
McMinnville next to nearby towns
McMinnville ranks 23 of 65 Tennessee cities here for ice-dam days, behind Crossville at 2.6 days.
- Manchester, TN 22 mi, 0.3 days
- Tullahoma, TN 33 mi, 0.3 days
- Cookeville, TN 35 mi, 2.2 days
- Murfreesboro, TN 38 mi, 0.3 days
- Winchester, TN 39 mi, 0.4 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Mc Minnville, 1.0 miles from McMinnville. 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.