Ice dam risk in Nashville-Davidson, TN
Ice dams in Nashville-Davidson, TN: how often
0.5 dam days a winter
Almost never. An ordinary house in Nashville-Davidson sees 0.5 days a winter when an ice dam can form, because snow rarely stays on a roof long enough below freezing.
Nashville-Davidson averages 5 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 Nashville-Davidson?
- 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.
Nashville-Davidson winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2.0 | 1.4 | 0.2 |
| February | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.2 |
| March | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| November | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
Nashville-Davidson next to nearby towns
Nashville-Davidson ranks 17 of 65 Tennessee cities here for ice-dam days, behind Crossville at 2.6 days.
- Goodlettsville, TN 12 mi, 0.1 days
- Brentwood, TN 12 mi, 0.1 days
- Hendersonville, TN 14 mi, 0.1 days
- Mount Juliet, TN 15 mi, 0.4 days
- Nolensville, TN 16 mi, 0.5 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Nashville International Airport, 6.9 miles from Nashville-Davidson. 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.