Ice dam risk in South Salt Lake, UT
How often ice dams form in South Salt Lake
8.6 dam days a winter
Moderate risk. On an ordinary house in South Salt Lake, conditions for an ice dam come on about 8.6 days in a normal winter, mostly in January and December.
South Salt Lake averages 49 inches of snow a year and about 45 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 South Salt Lake
| Attic | Dam days | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Air-sealed and well insulated | 6.0 | Moderate |
| Typical, some insulation, not air-sealed | 8.6 | Moderate |
| Older or poorly insulated, warm attic | 11.8 | Moderate |
Sealing and insulating a typical attic takes out about 2.6 days a winter here. It does not move the risk band, but it shortens every dam. An older house with a warm attic should expect closer to 11.8 days.
Preventing ice dams on a South Salt Lake roof
- 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.
Which to spend on first: air sealing or heat cable.
South Salt Lake winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10.7 | 16.1 | 3.7 |
| February | 9.8 | 9.1 | 1.5 |
| March | 6.4 | 2.8 | 0.1 |
| April | 3.2 | 0.6 | 0.0 |
| May | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| October | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| November | 7.3 | 3.4 | 0.3 |
| December | 11.0 | 12.9 | 3.0 |
South Salt Lake next to nearby towns
South Salt Lake ranks 48 of 67 Utah cities here for ice-dam days, behind Ogden at 37.2 days.
- Millcreek, UT 4 mi, 10.7 days
- Murray, UT 4 mi, 10.7 days
- Taylorsville, UT 4 mi, 11.0 days
- Holladay, UT 5 mi, 10.7 days
- Salt Lake City, UT 5 mi, 11.0 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Salt Lake Triad Center, 4.5 miles from South Salt Lake. 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.