Ice dam risk in Suffolk, VA
How often ice dams form in Suffolk
0.5 dam days a winter
Almost never. An ordinary house in Suffolk sees 0.5 days a winter when an ice dam can form, because snow rarely stays on a roof long enough below freezing.
Suffolk averages 6 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.
Do you need to do anything in Suffolk?
- 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.
Suffolk winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.1 | 1.8 | 0.3 |
| February | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.1 |
| March | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
Suffolk next to nearby towns
Suffolk ranks 28 of 39 Virginia cities here for ice-dam days, behind Winchester at 4.7 days.
- Chesapeake, VA 18 mi, 0.4 days
- Portsmouth, VA 19 mi, 0.1 days
- Norfolk, VA 27 mi, 0.1 days
- Newport News, VA 27 mi, 0.4 days
- Hampton, VA 31 mi, 0.4 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Suffolk Lake Kilby, 2.9 miles from Suffolk. 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.