Barbour County, AL Roof Snow Load - 5 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Barbour County, AL?
5 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Barbour County to carry. ASCE 7's low-slope-roof minimum (§7.3.4) raises the governing figure to 5 psf - higher than the 3.5 psf the ground-load formula alone would give, and the code says use the larger one.
Picture it, not just weigh it: 11 in. if it's fresh powder, 4 in. once it settles, or a mere 1 in. if it's ice. Standard residential construction handles a load this size without extra bracing; it is a modest addition on top of ordinary roof loading.
Barbour County, AL: quick facts
- Design roof snow load5 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map5 psf
- National rank#2,261 of 2,758
- Alabama rank#36 of 67
- Population24,358
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal0.5 in.
- FIPS01005
How Barbour County compares
5 psf ranks #2,261 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 82%) - and #36 of 67 in Alabama. 5.6 psf is Alabama's typical county figure - Barbour County comes in 0.6 psf under it.
Population 24,358 (FIPS 01005), roughly 31.8703°N 85.4051°W. The 5 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 5 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.
Typical snowfall in Barbour County, AL
NOAA's 30-year normal for Barbour County: 0.5 in. of snow a year, from the CLAYTON, AL US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Barbour 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.
Barbour 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.