On frosty and snowy mornings melt patterns will become readily visible.
Snow melt patterns on roof.
Place this vertically on your roof near the edge so it will melt a section of snow and ice creating an area where the water can leak off.
Winter storm central.
If your attic insulation needs a fix the pattern will be patchy.
Because the snow is melting from a heat loss on your roof and not because of warming temperatures the melted snow can refreeze once it travels from your roof creating ice dams that appear as icicles on the eaves and gutters.
Besides wasted heat melting snow on roofs can mean ice dams where snow melts in a warmer spot on the roof and then freezes when it hits the cold eaves.
Purchase sidewalk salt also called calcium chloride from your local hardware or big box store.
The differences from house to house new or old can be very impressive.
When snow begins to gradually melt off a roof vehicle or other outside structure you might occasionally see some odd patterns develop.
Gently toss the tied off pantyhose onto the edge of your roof to begin melting the snow.
I also see plenty of homes with uneven melt patterns across their roofs and this typically means that there is insulation missing in some of the rafter bays or quite likely an interior wall is coming up to the attic and has no air sealing to stop air from moving into the wall cavity from the house and up to the roof.