Ice dams are one of the many things to "love" about a cold Minnesota winter. As temperatures plunge this weekend, the formations are growing across Twin Cities homes.

Caused by poor and uneven insulation, ice dams form when snow melts and refreezes near the bottom of a roof, creating a thick sheet of ice. If left untreated, water can seep into walls, behind cabinets and into floors — costing homeowners thousands in repairs.

For Steve Kuhl of Kuhl's Contracting, it's an issue that can't be left unaddressed.

"The cost of repairing interior damage, which can easily exceed $5,000, $10,000. That's sometimes insurable, which is good, but insurance companies will not pay to have the ice dam removed. They'll only pay to fix the problem after it's occurred. And usually, they won't pay for it more than once," Kuhl said.

He added that, in 30 years of removing ice dams, this is the earliest he can remember seeing them. Temperature swings and heavy snow are the main contributors to their formation.

"Those temperature fluctuations do tend to create more of a problem, especially when there's more snow. Ultimately, that's the fuel that causes ice dams," Kuhl said. "2014 was huge, 2023 was pretty big, but we'll do 500, 750 houses in a season. Yeah, I don't know what we're going to do this season."