Boyle County, KY Roof Snow Load - 15 psf
Boyle County, KY roof snow load, translated
A typical heated home in Boyle County is designed to carry 15 pounds per square foot of snow on its roof, per ASCE 7-22. ASCE 7's low-slope-roof minimum (§7.3.4) raises the governing figure to 15 psf - higher than the 10.5 psf the ground-load formula alone would give, and the code says use the larger one.
On a roof that means 33 in. of fresh snow, 12 in. once it packs down, or 3 in. of solid ice - three very different piles for the same load. This is a meaningful design load - most modern-code homes handle it fine, though an addition, a carport or a flat-roofed section can be a weak spot.
Boyle County, KY: quick facts
- Design roof snow load15 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map15 psf
- National rank#1,423 of 2,758
- Kentucky rank#42 of 120
- Population31,394
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal3.3 in.
- FIPS21021
Where Boyle County ranks
#42 of 120 Kentucky counties by design load, top 52% of 2,758 nationally - that's Boyle County's spot. Kentucky counties average 15.7 psf; Boyle County runs 0.7 psf lower than that.
FIPS 21021, population 31,394, centered near 37.6181°N 84.8684°W. ASCE 7's underlying ground snow load here is 15 psf before the code's exposure and importance factors bring it to the 15 psf design figure above.
Boyle County: average annual snowfall
Boyle County sees about 3.3 in. of snow most winters, per the SPRINGFIELD 2W, KY US station's 1991-2020 NOAA normal. See the density guide.
Read this before you use Boyle County'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.