Bracken County, KY Roof Snow Load - 20 psf
What ASCE 7 says about snow load in Bracken County
That's Bracken County's design roof snow load per ASCE 7-22, for a typical heated single-family home - the number a permit reviewer starts from. The physics-based figure alone would be 14 psf, but ASCE 7's own low-slope minimum (§7.3.4) sets a floor of 20 psf for flat and low-pitch roofs here, which is the number that actually governs.
Converted to something you can actually eyeball on a roof: about 44 in. of fresh powder, 16 in. once it settles and packs down, or just 4 in. if it's turned to ice. Modern-code homes carry a load like this without issue; an older addition, a carport, or any flat-roofed section is where it is worth checking first.
Bracken County at a glance
- Design roof snow load20 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map20 psf
- National rank#1,139 of 2,758
- Kentucky rank#16 of 120
- Population8,497
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal17.2 in.
- FIPS21023
Where Bracken County's figure sits nationally
Out of 2,758 rated US counties, Bracken County sits at #1,139, the top 41% nationally - #16 of 120 within Kentucky. Kentucky counties average 15.7 psf; Bracken County runs 4.3 psf higher than that.
Near 38.6804°N 84.1152°W, FIPS 21023: Bracken County counts 8,497 residents and a 20 psf map value, which the code's own factors turn into 20 psf.
How much it actually snows in Bracken County
Most winters bring Bracken County roughly 17.2 in. of snow - NOAA's normal at RIPLEY EXP FARM, OH US, 18.7 mi off. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
Read this before you rely on it
Bracken County's number above is ASCE 7-22's default case, not a custom calculation: ordinary residential occupancy, heated, sited on ground that's neither fully sheltered nor fully exposed. Any one of those changing - pitch, exposure, heating, occupancy - moves the real figure.
Nothing here substitutes for an address-level number. Get one free, in about a minute, from the ASCE 7 Hazard Tool using your own coordinates rather than Bracken County's county-wide figure. (How this figure is calculated.)