Ice dam risk in Takoma Park, MD
Will your roof get ice dams in Takoma Park, MD?
2.1 dam days a winter
Low risk. On an ordinary house in Takoma Park, conditions for an ice dam come on about 2.1 days in a normal winter, mostly in February and January.
Takoma Park averages 10 inches of snow a year and about 12 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 Takoma Park
| Attic | Dam days | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Air-sealed and well insulated | 1.8 | Low |
| Typical, some insulation, not air-sealed | 2.1 | Low |
| Older or poorly insulated, warm attic | 2.6 | Low |
The attic matters less in Takoma Park 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 Takoma Park
- 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.
Takoma Park winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.7 | 3.0 | 0.7 |
| February | 2.3 | 5.4 | 1.0 |
| March | 1.4 | 1.5 | 0.2 |
| December | 1.3 | 1.7 | 0.3 |
Takoma Park next to nearby towns
Takoma Park ranks 19 of 23 Maryland cities here for ice-dam days, behind Hagerstown at 12.1 days.
- Hyattsville, MD 3 mi, 2.1 days
- College Park, MD 4 mi, 2.9 days
- Washington, DC 5 mi, 2.1 days
- Greenbelt, MD 6 mi, 2.9 days
- New Carrollton, MD 7 mi, 2.9 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Natl Arboretum Dc, 4.9 miles from Takoma Park. 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.