Bethel Census Area, AK Roof Snow Load - Case Study Area
What "Case Study" means for Bethel Census Area
ASCE 7's own snow load map has no single figure for Bethel Census Area: the terrain is complex enough that the code (§7.2) requires an elevation-specific study rather than a county-wide value. That is the map being accurate, not a data gap.
FIPS 02050, population 18,237. 386 US counties get this same case-study treatment; Bethel Census Area is one of them.
Bethel Census Area in numbers
- Population18,237
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal64 in.
- FIPS02050
Bethel Census Area: average annual snowfall
Bethel Census Area sees about 64 in. of snow most winters, per the BETHEL AP, AK US station's 1991-2020 NOAA normal. 57.3 mi is a real gap between Bethel Census Area and its nearest reporting station, so local snowfall can diverge from this figure, especially near elevation changes. See the density guide.
Read this before you use Bethel Census Area's figure
The figure above assumes the case ASCE 7-22 treats as typical: a heated, ordinary-occupancy home on a partially exposed site. Change any of those - exposure, heating, roof pitch, occupancy category - and the real design number moves.
A building permit needs the number at your exact address, not the county average - the free ASCE 7 Hazard Tool returns that from your coordinates in about a minute and produces a PDF a plan reviewer will accept. Details: the calculation guide.