Ice dam risk in Topeka, KS
How often ice dams form in Topeka
4.5 dam days a winter
Low risk. On an ordinary house in Topeka, conditions for an ice dam come on about 4.5 days in a normal winter, mostly in January and December.
Topeka averages 17 inches of snow a year and about 18 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 Topeka
| Attic | Dam days | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Air-sealed and well insulated | 3.1 | Low |
| Typical, some insulation, not air-sealed | 4.5 | Low |
| Older or poorly insulated, warm attic | 6.3 | Moderate |
The attic matters less in Topeka than in colder towns: there are only 1.4 days a winter between a typical attic and a sealed one.
What to do about ice dams in Topeka
- 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.
Topeka winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.6 | 6.6 | 2.0 |
| February | 5.2 | 4.6 | 1.1 |
| March | 1.7 | 1.4 | 0.2 |
| April | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| October | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| November | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.1 |
| December | 4.1 | 4.5 | 1.2 |
Topeka next to nearby towns
Topeka ranks 13 of 38 Kansas cities here for ice-dam days, behind Salina at 5.8 days.
- Lawrence, KS 24 mi, 3.1 days
- Ottawa, KS 38 mi, 2.9 days
- Gardner, KS 45 mi, 4.4 days
- Lansing, KS 45 mi, 4.7 days
- Leavenworth, KS 46 mi, 4.7 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from Topeka, 4.6 miles from Topeka. 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.