Brown County, KS Roof Snow Load - 20 psf
What ASCE 7 says about snow load in Brown County
That's Brown County's design roof snow load per ASCE 7-22, for a typical heated single-family home - the number a permit reviewer starts from. ASCE 7's low-slope-roof minimum (§7.3.4) raises the governing figure to 20 psf - higher than the 14 psf the ground-load formula alone would give, and the code says use the larger one.
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. A meaningful design load. Most homes built to modern code handle it, but additions, carports, and flat-roofed sections are worth a second look.
Brown County at a glance
- Design roof snow load20 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map20 psf
- National rank#1,122 of 2,758
- Kansas rank#29 of 105
- Population9,142
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal16.9 in.
- FIPS20013
Where Brown County's figure sits nationally
Out of 2,758 rated US counties, Brown County sits at #1,122, the top 41% nationally - #29 of 105 within Kansas. Kansas counties average 18.2 psf; Brown County runs 1.8 psf higher than that.
Near 39.8259°N 95.5699°W, FIPS 20013: Brown County counts 9,142 residents and a 20 psf map value, which the code's own factors turn into 20 psf.
How much it actually snows in Brown County
Most winters bring Brown County roughly 16.9 in. of snow - NOAA's normal at HIAWATHA 1 S, KS US, 2.1 mi off. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
Read this before you rely on it
Brown 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 Brown County's county-wide figure. (How this figure is calculated.)