Baraga County, MI Roof Snow Load - 49 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Baraga County, MI?
49 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Baraga County to carry.
Picture it, not just weigh it: 107.8 in. if it's fresh powder, 39.2 in. once it settles, or a mere 9.8 in. if it's ice. A load this size is a serious structural matter; pre-modern-code homes and low-slope or flat-roofed sections are the ones most worth an inspection.
Baraga County in numbers
- Design roof snow load49 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map70 psf
- National rank#23 of 2,758
- Michigan rank#8 of 70
- Population8,169
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal121.3 in.
- FIPS26013
How Baraga County compares
49 psf ranks #23 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 1%) - and #8 of 70 in Michigan. 31.7 psf is Michigan's typical county figure - Baraga County beats it by 17.3 psf.
Population 8,169 (FIPS 26013), roughly 46.6959°N 88.3618°W. The 70 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 49 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.
Typical snowfall in Baraga County, MI
NOAA's 30-year normal for Baraga County: 121.3 in. of snow a year, from the WATTON 2WSW, MI US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Baraga County figure assumes
This is a county-level reference figure for a typical heated home built to Risk Category II (ordinary residential), on a partially exposed lot - the assumptions ASCE 7-22 itself treats as the default case. A steeper roof, a fully exposed hilltop lot, an unheated structure, or a higher risk category all change the actual number.
Baraga County's permit office wants an address-specific figure, not this county average - the ASCE 7 Hazard Tool is free, takes under a minute, and outputs a PDF most reviewers accept. See the methodology guide.