SnowLoadCheck

Calhoun County, AL Roof Snow Load - 5 psf

Calhoun County, AL: your roof's ASCE 7 snow number, in plain English

Light
5 psf

Calhoun County's roofs are built to hold 5 psf of snow, the ASCE 7-22 figure a permit reviewer checks first. The physics-based figure alone would be 3.5 psf, but ASCE 7's own low-slope minimum (§7.3.4) sets a floor of 5 psf for flat and low-pitch roofs here, which is the number that actually governs.

In depth, not weight: that's roughly 11 inches of fresh, light snow, 4 inches of old, settled snow, or as little as 1 inches of solid ice - snow that heavy is rare here but ice from a freeze-thaw cycle adds up far faster than the depth suggests. A modest addition to standard roof loading. Ordinary residential construction handles this without extra bracing.

Already snow on the roof in Calhoun County?

in. of

Calhoun County in numbers

Calhoun County by the numbers

Nationally that's #2,136 out of 2,758 rated counties, the top 77%; within Alabama alone, Calhoun County ranks #23 of 67. 5.6 psf is Alabama's typical county figure - Calhoun County comes in 0.6 psf under it.

Calhoun County, FIPS 01015, is home to 116,427 people near 33.7705°N 85.8279°W. Its 5 psf ground snow load figure is the map value; 5 psf is what a roof is actually designed for.

Calhoun County's snowfall, most winters

0.1 in. a year: that's Calhoun County's NOAA 1991-2020 snowfall normal, measured at JACKSONVILLE, AL US (4.7 mi away). See the density guide.

Before you rely on Calhoun County's number

Treat the Calhoun County figure as a starting point, not a final answer: it assumes standard occupancy, a heated structure and a moderately sheltered site, per ASCE 7-22's own defaults. Exposed terrain, an unheated building or a steeper roof all shift the real number.

For a real application, skip the county number and go straight to the ASCE 7 Hazard Tool - enter your coordinates and it returns a site-specific figure a plan reviewer will recognize. (How this figure is calculated.)