Ice dam risk in Zanesville, OH
Will your roof get ice dams in Zanesville, OH?
8.0 dam days a winter
Moderate risk. On an ordinary house in Zanesville, conditions for an ice dam come on about 8.0 days in a normal winter, mostly in January and February.
Zanesville averages 20 inches of snow a year and about 29 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 Zanesville
| Attic | Dam days | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Air-sealed and well insulated | 4.9 | Low |
| Typical, some insulation, not air-sealed | 8.0 | Moderate |
| Older or poorly insulated, warm attic | 11.9 | Moderate |
Sealing and insulating a typical attic takes out about 3.1 days a winter here. It drops the risk from moderate to low. An older house with a warm attic should expect closer to 11.9 days.
What to do about ice dams in Zanesville
- 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.
- Rake the bottom three or four feet of roof after any storm that leaves more than about six inches, from the ground with a roof rake.
Which to spend on first: air sealing or heat cable.
Zanesville winter, month by month
| Month | Snow (in) | Days on ground | Dam days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.6 | 12.0 | 3.7 |
| February | 5.3 | 8.4 | 2.4 |
| March | 2.8 | 3.0 | 0.6 |
| April | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| November | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.1 |
| December | 3.0 | 4.7 | 1.2 |
Zanesville next to nearby towns
Zanesville ranks 104 of 176 Ohio cities here for ice-dam days, behind Euclid at 24.8 days.
- Coshocton, OH 23 mi, 5.4 days
- Cambridge, OH 23 mi, 6.5 days
- Heath, OH 23 mi, 6.8 days
- Newark, OH 23 mi, 6.8 days
- Lancaster, OH 35 mi, 5.2 days
Where these numbers come from
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from NEW Lexington 2 NW, 18.9 miles from Zanesville. 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.