Bernalillo County, NM Roof Snow Load - 5 psf
Bernalillo County, NM: your roof's ASCE 7 snow number, in plain English
Bernalillo County's roofs are built to hold 5 psf of snow, the ASCE 7-22 figure a permit reviewer checks first. Flat and low-pitch roofs in Bernalillo County are actually governed by ASCE 7's §7.3.4 minimum of 5 psf, not the 3.5 psf the ground-load formula alone would produce.
In depth, not weight: that's roughly 11 inches of fresh, light snow, 4 inches of old, settled snow, or as little as 1 inches of solid ice - snow that heavy is rare here but ice from a freeze-thaw cycle adds up far faster than the depth suggests. This is a modest add-on to standard roof loading - ordinary residential construction carries it without extra bracing.
Bernalillo County at a glance
- Design roof snow load5 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map5 psf
- National rank#2,080 of 2,758
- New Mexico rank#12 of 27
- Population671,747
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal6.8 in.
- FIPS35001
Bernalillo County by the numbers
Nationally that's #2,080 out of 2,758 rated counties, the top 75%; within New Mexico alone, Bernalillo County ranks #12 of 27. That's 1.9 psf below New Mexico's own county-average design load of 6.9 psf.
Bernalillo County, FIPS 35001, is home to 671,747 people near 35.0536°N 106.6691°W. Its 5 psf ground snow load figure is the map value; 5 psf is what a roof is actually designed for.
Bernalillo County's snowfall, most winters
6.8 in. a year: that's Bernalillo County's NOAA 1991-2020 snowfall normal, measured at ALBUQUERQUE VALLEY, NM US (2.6 mi away). See the density guide.
Before you rely on Bernalillo County's number
Treat the Bernalillo County figure as a starting point, not a final answer: it assumes standard occupancy, a heated structure and a moderately sheltered site, per ASCE 7-22's own defaults. Exposed terrain, an unheated building or a steeper roof all shift the real number.
For a real application, skip the county number and go straight to the ASCE 7 Hazard Tool - enter your coordinates and it returns a site-specific figure a plan reviewer will recognize. See the methodology guide.