Ice dam risk in Reno, NV
How often ice dams form in Reno
3.1 dam days a winter
Low risk. On an ordinary house in Reno, conditions for an ice dam come on about 3.1 days in a normal winter, mostly in December and January.
Reno averages 30 inches of snow a year and about 17 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 Reno
| Attic | Dam days | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Air-sealed and well insulated | 2.8 | Low |
| Typical, some insulation, not air-sealed | 3.1 | Low |
| Older or poorly insulated, warm attic | 3.6 | Low |
The attic matters less in Reno than in colder towns: there are only 0.3 days a winter between a typical attic and a sealed one.
What to do about ice dams in Reno
- Check the gutters before the first snow and clear them, so meltwater has somewhere to go. If you see icicles thicker than a finger along the eave after a storm, that is the early sign to look at the attic.
Snowy places are not always the worst: why snowfall misleads.
Reno winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.0 | 5.1 | 1.0 |
| February | 7.0 | 3.9 | 0.7 |
| March | 4.4 | 1.5 | 0.2 |
| April | 1.8 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| May | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| October | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| November | 1.9 | 1.0 | 0.1 |
| December | 7.4 | 5.3 | 1.1 |
Reno next to nearby towns
Reno ranks 2 of 10 Nevada cities here for ice-dam days, behind Elko at 14.0 days.
- Sparks, NV 7 mi, 1.3 days
- Truckee, CA 23 mi, 36.3 days
- Carson, NV 28 mi, 1.9 days
- Fernley, NV 35 mi, 0.4 days
- South Lake Tahoe, CA 43 mi, 2.1 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Reno Wfo, 3.2 miles from Reno. 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.