In addition you could put a gutter protector over the gutter designed to stop leaves from getting into the gutter.
How to keep snow from ripping off gutters.
Seamless gutters are less likely to develop ice dams than seamed gutters.
Be careful using it though because you don t want to accidentally pull down your gutters instead.
As a preventative measure you can get some heat tape from the local hardware store.
If you do that you will never have one rip off again.
And european style gutters are also designed to help prevent snow and ice damming.
You can also get snow dams that are glued or screwed to the roof higher up to limit the constant flow of snow without limiting the movement of liquid water.
Clogged gutters will only accelerate the process of ice damming and over flow when the gutters fill up with ice and snow.
I just had the identical problem.
When you have a snow condition simply plug in the tape and it will heat up the gutters and downspouts which will keep the water flowing.
The last way that you can protect your gutters from snow and ice damage is to reinforce your gutters.
You can help your gutters and your roof by taking some steps to help remove the snow from the gutters before it piles up too heavily.
A nice homeowner named lisa emailed me the following about her recent issues with the gutters on her home being torn off by sliding snow.
A snow rake is one of the simplest methods to use and you can pull the snow off the roof safely to the ground.
Snow and ice can weigh a gutter trough down due to their weight.
If you want to prevent damage to your gutters consider installing new ones like these that help prevent damaging things like ice dams from forming.
Snow and ice can pack on pounds and weigh down the gutter trough.
It should be run across the entire gutter system as well as snaked down through the downspouts.
And you wont get the snow and ice building up inj the gutter making the ice dams worse.
You have to put some sort of gutter helmet or solid gutter cover on them.
Gutters that sag or hang off the side of the roof are at risk of being damaged during winter.
I came across an old posting of yours in which you were giving advice to a homeowner like me who had a metal roof and problems with cascading snow ripping the gutter off.
We don t get a ton of snow but it seems like it would be enough to tear the gutter off the side when it comes sliding down from the ridge.
To keep the snow on your roof from melting make sure your roof is well insulated and that warm air is not escaping.
Reinforcing the gutters is another preventive method to shield them from snow and ice damage.
Once you do this the snow can t grab the front lip of the gutter.