Gutter and Rainfall Research
Short studies on the weather your gutters have to handle in Georgia, Greater Cincinnati, South Bend and southwest Michigan, built from public data. Every figure names its source and the period it covers, and each study’s table is free to download.
Studies
How much rain your roof sheds, in a year and in a hard storm
70,300 gallons
Rain a 2,000 sq ft roof sheds in a normal year in Cumming, against 48,900 in South Bend (NOAA 1991-2020 normals).
Gallons of rain a roof sheds in a normal year, in one hour of a 10-year storm and at a storm's peak, for the five areas we serve.
Published CSVRead the study
Are big downpours more common? Days with 1 inch or more of rain, 1991-2025
9.5 to 12.6 days
Days a year with 1 inch of rain or more at Cincinnati's CVG station, 1991-2005 vs 2011-2025 (NOAA GHCN-Daily).
Days a year with 1 inch and 2 inches of rain or more at four airport weather stations, 1991-2025, with a trend test for each.
Published CSVRead the study
Snow, freeze and ice dams: why northern gutters fail differently
126.4 freezing nights
A year in South Bend, against 99.8 in Cincinnati and 35.7 at Atlanta's airport (NOAA 1991-2020 normals).
Snowfall, days with snow on the ground, freezing nights and freeze-thaw days for the five areas we serve.
Published CSVRead the study
Gutter and rainfall statistics by city
1951 vs 1998
Median year built of homes in Cincinnati vs Cumming (Census ACS 2020-2024), with rain, freeze and tree canopy figures for 65 communities.
Reference page: rain, storm intensity, snow and freezing nights for each service area, plus home age and tree canopy for every community we serve.
Published CSVRead the study
How we work
- Public, named sources only, such as NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. Every figure links to its source and gives its period.
- Our own calculations are labeled as ours, with the method on the page.
- Each study lists its limits: what weather-station data can and cannot tell you about a single house.
- Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it and note the change on the page.
Sources
- How much rain your roof sheds, in a year and in a hard storm: NOAA NCEI, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (annual/seasonal station files); NOAA National Weather Service, Atlas 14 Precipitation Frequency Data Server. Data file: CSV.
- Are big downpours more common? Days with 1 inch or more of rain, 1991-2025: NOAA NCEI, Global Historical Climatology Network daily (GHCN-Daily), station files; NOAA NCEI, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (days with 1 inch or more, for the cross-check). Data file: CSV.
- Snow, freeze and ice dams: why northern gutters fail differently: NOAA NCEI, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (annual/seasonal station files). Data file: CSV.
- Gutter and rainfall statistics by city: NOAA NCEI, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; NOAA National Weather Service, Atlas 14 Precipitation Frequency Data Server; NOAA NCEI, GHCN-Daily station records; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, tables B25034 and B25035; USDA Forest Service, NLCD Tree Canopy Cover, version 2025-6; U.S. Census Bureau, TIGERweb boundaries and land and water areas. Data file: CSV.
Using our data
Each study’s table is free to download as a CSV and free to use with credit to Top Rated Gutters and a link to the study (CC BY 4.0). The underlying public data stay under their publishers’ own terms.