Caldwell County, NC Roof Snow Load - 15 psf
Caldwell County, NC roof snow load, translated
A typical heated home in Caldwell County is designed to carry 15 pounds per square foot of snow on its roof, per ASCE 7-22. Flat and low-pitch roofs in Caldwell County are actually governed by ASCE 7's §7.3.4 minimum of 15 psf, not the 10.5 psf the ground-load formula alone would produce.
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.
Caldwell County, NC: quick facts
- Design roof snow load15 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map15 psf
- National rank#1,351 of 2,758
- North Carolina rank#26 of 100
- Population80,739
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal4.1 in.
- FIPS37027
Where Caldwell County ranks
#26 of 100 North Carolina counties by design load, top 49% of 2,758 nationally - that's Caldwell County's spot. That's 2.1 psf above North Carolina's own county-average design load of 12.9 psf.
FIPS 37027, population 80,739, centered near 35.9664°N 81.5125°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.
Caldwell County: average annual snowfall
Caldwell County sees about 4.1 in. of snow most winters, per the LENOIR, NC US station's 1991-2020 NOAA normal. See the density guide.
Read this before you use Caldwell 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.