The ebb and flow of C.O.’s winter weather can create ice dams, damage roofs

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ)-- With the on-and-off snow Central Oregon has been experiencing, it increases the chance of ice dams forming around your roof.

Ice dams are a wall of ice that forms at the edge of homes' roofs, typically at the gutters. Just as the name entails, the ice creates a barrier to the melting snow and prevents it from properly draining into the gutters.

According to experts, if you leave snow sitting on top of an ice dam, water can seep inside your home and cause thousands of dollars of damage.

“It can lift the shingles on your roof. It can cause a lot of damage by that ice continuing to melt and refreeze in that one spot," Paiton Radinovich, mitigation coordinator for Central Oregon Disaster Restoration, said Monday.

“Homeowners will start to see water leaking into the interior of their house. Usually, they’ll see dripping down their side of the wall, or they’ll see some dripping on the ceiling.”

Recessed lighting, skylights and complex roof designs increase the chances of an ice dam developing on your roof.

Radinovich added, “This is definitely the time of year that we start seeing an increase in ice dams, especially with it being really cold, snowing and then water melting on your roof and refreshing again.”

So what kind of prevention steps can you take to help prevent the build-up of ice on your roof?

Radinovich suggested that removing snow buildup before it starts melting and leaking down is key to preventing ice dams.

She also mentioned what can happen to roofs that are repeatedly being exposed to refreezing water.

“When you start seeing some water intrusion," she said, "be sure to call someone and get someone out there to help stabilize the area so that you’re not having additional issues later on with mold growth or rot from the water sitting there and doing what water does to houses when it doesn’t get taken care of.”