Ice dam risk in Tahlequah, OK
How often ice dams form in Tahlequah
0.5 dam days a winter
Almost never. An ordinary house in Tahlequah sees 0.5 days a winter when an ice dam can form, because snow rarely stays on a roof long enough below freezing.
Tahlequah averages 4 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 Tahlequah?
- 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.
Tahlequah winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.7 | 1.8 | 0.3 |
| February | 1.5 | 0.9 | 0.1 |
| March | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| November | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
Tahlequah next to nearby towns
Tahlequah ranks 35 of 45 Oklahoma cities here for ice-dam days, behind Woodward at 2.0 days.
- Muskogee, OK 24 mi, 0.6 days
- Siloam Springs, AR 31 mi, 1.0 days
- Coweta, OK 38 mi, 0.9 days
- Farmington, AR 41 mi, 0.9 days
- Claremore, OK 45 mi, 1.6 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Tahlequah, 2.0 miles from Tahlequah. 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.