Ice dam risk in Palmer Town, MA
Will your roof get ice dams in Palmer Town, MA?
18.9 dam days a winter
High risk. On an ordinary house in Palmer Town, conditions for an ice dam come on about 18.9 days in a normal winter, mostly in January and February.
Palmer Town averages 48 inches of snow a year and about 64 days with snow on the ground. Snow that lies that long is what turns a little attic heat into a ridge of ice at the eave. 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 Palmer Town
| Attic | Dam days | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Air-sealed and well insulated | 11.1 | Moderate |
| Typical, some insulation, not air-sealed | 18.9 | High |
| Older or poorly insulated, warm attic | 28.8 | High |
Sealing and insulating a typical attic takes out about 7.9 days a winter here. It drops the risk from high to moderate. An older house with a warm attic should expect closer to 28.8 days.
What to do about ice dams in Palmer Town
- Air-seal the attic floor: the gaps around the hatch, light fixtures, plumbing stacks and the top plates of interior walls. This is the fix that removes the cause, and it usually costs less than a season of contractor ice removal.
- 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.
- At the next reroof, ask for ice-and-water membrane under the shingles from the eave to at least 24 inches inside the wall line. It does not stop a dam; it stops the leak when one forms.
Which to spend on first: air sealing or heat cable.
Palmer Town winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 12.3 | 18.5 | 6.5 |
| February | 13.7 | 17.5 | 5.9 |
| March | 8.8 | 13.4 | 2.9 |
| April | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.1 |
| October | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| November | 1.5 | 2.0 | 0.3 |
| December | 9.6 | 11.9 | 3.3 |
Palmer Town next to nearby towns
Palmer Town ranks 12 of 58 Massachusetts cities here for ice-dam days, behind Pittsfield at 31.3 days.
- Springfield, MA 13 mi, 14.5 days
- Chicopee, MA 14 mi, 16.4 days
- Amherst Town, MA 16 mi, 15.9 days
- Southbridge Town, MA 17 mi, 14.9 days
- Holyoke, MA 17 mi, 15.9 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Belchertown, 6.6 miles from Palmer Town. 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.
- Snow-on-the-ground counts come from a second, nearby station, because the closest one does not record them.