Ice dam risk in New Brunswick, NJ
Ice dams in New Brunswick, NJ: how often
6.2 dam days a winter
Moderate risk. On an ordinary house in New Brunswick, conditions for an ice dam come on about 6.2 days in a normal winter, mostly in February and January.
New Brunswick averages 29 inches of snow a year and about 27 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 New Brunswick
| Attic | Dam days | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Air-sealed and well insulated | 4.6 | Low |
| Typical, some insulation, not air-sealed | 6.2 | Moderate |
| Older or poorly insulated, warm attic | 8.2 | Moderate |
The attic matters less in New Brunswick than in colder towns: there are only 1.6 days a winter between a typical attic and a sealed one.
Preventing ice dams on a New Brunswick roof
- Rake the bottom three or four feet of roof after any storm that leaves more than about six inches, from the ground with a roof rake.
More on when a roof rake is worth it.
New Brunswick winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.3 | 8.7 | 2.3 |
| February | 9.3 | 9.7 | 2.4 |
| March | 5.2 | 4.5 | 0.7 |
| April | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| October | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| November | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| December | 4.9 | 3.8 | 0.8 |
New Brunswick next to nearby towns
New Brunswick ranks 19 of 116 New Jersey cities here for ice-dam days, behind Hopatcong at 14.7 days.
- Highland Park, NJ 1 mi, 6.2 days
- South River, NJ 4 mi, 6.2 days
- Metuchen, NJ 6 mi, 5.8 days
- South Plainfield, NJ 6 mi, 5.8 days
- Sayreville, NJ 7 mi, 6.2 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from NEW Brunswick 3 SE, 1.5 miles from New Brunswick. 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.