Ice dam risk in Pittsburg, KS
Ice dams in Pittsburg, KS: how often
0.7 dam days a winter
Almost never. An ordinary house in Pittsburg sees 0.7 days a winter when an ice dam can form, because snow rarely stays on a roof long enough below freezing.
Pittsburg averages 10 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.
What your attic does to that number in Pittsburg
| Attic | Dam days | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Air-sealed and well insulated | 0.5 | Very unlikely |
| Typical, some insulation, not air-sealed | 0.7 | Very unlikely |
| Older or poorly insulated, warm attic | 1.0 | Very unlikely |
The attic matters less in Pittsburg than in colder towns: there are only 0.2 days a winter between a typical attic and a sealed one.
Do you need to do anything in Pittsburg?
- 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.
Pittsburg winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.4 | 1.9 | 0.5 |
| February | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.1 |
| March | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| November | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 2.9 | 0.5 | 0.1 |
Pittsburg next to nearby towns
Pittsburg ranks 38 of 38 Kansas cities here for ice-dam days, behind Salina at 5.8 days.
- Webb City, MO 23 mi, 0.1 days
- Joplin, MO 26 mi, 0.1 days
- Carthage, MO 28 mi, 0.1 days
- Miami, OK 38 mi, 1.8 days
- Neosho, MO 43 mi, 0.1 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Pittsburg, 1.6 miles from Pittsburg. 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.