Ice dam risk in West Lafayette, IN
Ice dams in West Lafayette, IN: how often
9.7 dam days a winter
Moderate risk. On an ordinary house in West Lafayette, conditions for an ice dam come on about 9.7 days in a normal winter, mostly in January and February.
West Lafayette averages 19 inches of snow a year and about 33 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 West Lafayette
| Attic | Dam days | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Air-sealed and well insulated | 5.2 | Moderate |
| Typical, some insulation, not air-sealed | 9.7 | Moderate |
| Older or poorly insulated, warm attic | 15.3 | High |
Sealing and insulating a typical attic takes out about 4.5 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 15.3 days.
Preventing ice dams on a West Lafayette 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.
Which to spend on first: air sealing or heat cable.
West Lafayette winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.9 | 13.4 | 4.5 |
| February | 5.2 | 8.4 | 2.5 |
| March | 2.3 | 3.4 | 0.6 |
| April | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| November | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.1 |
| December | 4.2 | 6.5 | 1.8 |
West Lafayette next to nearby towns
West Lafayette ranks 42 of 88 Indiana cities here for ice-dam days, behind Plymouth at 15.9 days.
- Lafayette, IN 4 mi, 9.9 days
- Frankfort, IN 23 mi, 7.9 days
- Crawfordsville, IN 28 mi, 8.5 days
- Logansport, IN 37 mi, 10.4 days
- Lebanon, IN 37 mi, 7.6 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from W Lafayette 6 NW, 4.2 miles from West Lafayette. 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.