Blue Earth County, MN Roof Snow Load - 35 psf

How much snow is too much for a roof in Blue Earth County, MN?

Picture it, not just weigh it: 77 in. if it's fresh powder, 28 in. once it settles, or a mere 7 in. if it's ice. A serious structural load. Homes built before modern snow-load provisions, or with low-slope/flat roof sections, are the ones most worth having checked.

Blue Earth County in numbers

• Design roof snow load35 psf
• Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map50 psf
• National rank#115 of 2,758
• Minnesota rank#41 of 87
• Population70,700
• Annual snowfall, NOAA normal38.7 in.
• FIPS27013

How Blue Earth County compares

35 psf ranks #115 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 4%) - and #41 of 87 in Minnesota. That's 2.4 psf below Minnesota's own county-average design load of 37.4 psf.

Population 70,700 (FIPS 27013), roughly 44.0337°N 94.064°W. The 50 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 35 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.

Typical snowfall in Blue Earth County, MN

NOAA's 30-year normal for Blue Earth County: 38.7 in. of snow a year, from the MANKATO, MN US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)

What this Blue Earth 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.

Blue Earth 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. (How this figure is calculated.)