Ice dam risk in New Orleans, LA
How often ice dams form in New Orleans
0.0 dam days a winter
Almost never. An ordinary house in New Orleans sees 0.0 days a winter when an ice dam can form, because snow rarely stays on a roof long enough below freezing.
New Orleans averages 0 inches of snow a year and about 0 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 New Orleans?
- 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.
New Orleans winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| December | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
New Orleans next to nearby towns
New Orleans ranks 1 of 35 Louisiana cities here for ice-dam days, the worst in the state.
- Gretna, LA 12 mi, 0.0 days
- Slidell, LA 19 mi, 0.0 days
- Kenner, LA 19 mi, 0.0 days
- Mandeville, LA 24 mi, 0.0 days
- Covington, LA 31 mi, 0.0 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from NEW Orleans Lakefront Airport, 5.7 miles from New Orleans. 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.