What's an Ice Dam?

So prior to living in AK I had no idea what an ice dam was. I mean I deduced that beavers weren't the culprit, but I figured they were found in a river. WRONG. Here's the web definition.

"An ice dam is a ridge of ice that forms at the edge of a roof and prevents melting snow (water) from draining off the roof. The water that backs up behind the dam can leak into a home causing damage to walls, ceilings, and insulation."

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

So, we too discovered what an ice dam was when we saw water dripping in our house near the window.

What the ice dam taught us:
*It's good to have Alaskan neighbors who know about ice dams (Thanks Darren!)
*Apparently it's a very common thing, especially during weird freeze/thaw winters like we've had this year
*The most important thing to do is get the snow off the roof ASAP. Ross was thumping around on the roof most of Sunday, trying to shovel all the snow off. Roma thought Santa landed on the roof, ie she was not a fan.
*Heat trace is only marginally useful because it doesn't stay close enough to the ice to melt it
*If you have water dripping in your house, it's hard to know the entry point when you don't have attic access, but it's safe to assume some of the insulation is wet which means you should drop your thermostat significantly until it dries. (I was wearing my coat and hat in the house.)

Now you know all about ice dams. Remember icicles are a bad sign. Store away this memory until that time in the future when you hear a "drip, drip, drip"...