Ice dam risk in Santa Monica, CA
How often ice dams form in Santa Monica
0.0 dam days a winter
Almost never. An ordinary house in Santa Monica sees 0.0 days a winter when an ice dam can form, because snow rarely stays on a roof long enough below freezing.
Santa Monica 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 Santa Monica?
- 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.
Santa Monica next to nearby towns
Santa Monica ranks 95 of 376 California cities here for ice-dam days, behind Truckee at 36.3 days.
- Los Angeles, CA 5 mi, 0.0 days
- Culver City, CA 6 mi, 0.0 days
- Beverly Hills, CA 7 mi, 0.0 days
- El Segundo, CA 8 mi, 0.0 days
- Manhattan Beach, CA 9 mi, 0.0 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Santa Monica Pier, 0.2 miles from Santa Monica. 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.