Cabarrus County, NC Roof Snow Load - 10 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Cabarrus County, NC?
10 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Cabarrus County to carry. The physics-based figure alone would be 7 psf, but ASCE 7's own low-slope minimum (§7.3.4) sets a floor of 10 psf for flat and low-pitch roofs here, which is the number that actually governs.
Picture it, not just weigh it: 22 in. if it's fresh powder, 8 in. once it settles, or a mere 2 in. if it's ice. Standard residential construction handles a load this size without extra bracing; it is a modest addition on top of ordinary roof loading.
Cabarrus County at a glance
- Design roof snow load10 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map10 psf
- National rank#1,676 of 2,758
- North Carolina rank#54 of 100
- Population244,925
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal0.8 in.
- FIPS37025
How Cabarrus County compares
10 psf ranks #1,676 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 61%) - and #54 of 100 in North Carolina. North Carolina counties average 12.9 psf; Cabarrus County runs 2.9 psf lower than that.
Population 244,925 (FIPS 37025), roughly 35.3883°N 80.5527°W. The 10 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 10 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.
Typical snowfall in Cabarrus County, NC
NOAA's 30-year normal for Cabarrus County: 0.8 in. of snow a year, from the ALBEMARLE, NC US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Cabarrus 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.
Cabarrus 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. Details: the calculation guide.