Aiken County, SC Roof Snow Load - 10 psf
What ASCE 7 says about snow load in Aiken County
That's Aiken County's design roof snow load per ASCE 7-22, for a typical heated single-family home - the number a permit reviewer starts from. ASCE 7's low-slope-roof minimum (§7.3.4) raises the governing figure to 10 psf - higher than the 7 psf the ground-load formula alone would give, and the code says use the larger one.
Converted to something you can actually eyeball on a roof: about 22 in. of fresh powder, 8 in. once it settles and packs down, or just 2 in. if it's turned to ice. This is a modest add-on to standard roof loading - ordinary residential construction carries it without extra bracing.
Aiken County, SC: quick facts
- Design roof snow load10 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map10 psf
- National rank#1,686 of 2,758
- South Carolina rank#8 of 46
- Population179,245
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal0.7 in.
- FIPS45003
Where Aiken County's figure sits nationally
Out of 2,758 rated US counties, Aiken County sits at #1,686, the top 61% nationally - #8 of 46 within South Carolina. South Carolina counties average 8.8 psf; Aiken County runs 1.2 psf higher than that.
Near 33.55°N 81.633°W, FIPS 45003: Aiken County counts 179,245 residents and a 10 psf map value, which the code's own factors turn into 10 psf.
How much it actually snows in Aiken County
Most winters bring Aiken County roughly 0.7 in. of snow - NOAA's normal at AIKEN 5SE, SC US, 5.4 mi off. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
Read this before you rely on it
Aiken County's number above is ASCE 7-22's default case, not a custom calculation: ordinary residential occupancy, heated, sited on ground that's neither fully sheltered nor fully exposed. Any one of those changing - pitch, exposure, heating, occupancy - moves the real figure.
Nothing here substitutes for an address-level number. Get one free, in about a minute, from the ASCE 7 Hazard Tool using your own coordinates rather than Aiken County's county-wide figure. See the methodology guide.