Catron County, NM Roof Snow Load - 5 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Catron County, NM?
5 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Catron County to carry. Flat and low-pitch roofs in Catron County are actually governed by ASCE 7's §7.3.4 minimum of 5 psf, not the 3.5 psf the ground-load formula alone would produce.
Picture it, not just weigh it: 11 in. if it's fresh powder, 4 in. once it settles, or a mere 1 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.
Catron County in numbers
- Design roof snow load5 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map5 psf
- National rank#2,442 of 2,758
- New Mexico rank#22 of 27
- Population3,795
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal17.6 in.
- FIPS35003
How Catron County compares
5 psf ranks #2,442 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 89%) - and #22 of 27 in New Mexico. New Mexico counties average 6.9 psf; Catron County runs 1.9 psf lower than that.
Population 3,795 (FIPS 35003), roughly 33.9016°N 108.3919°W. The 5 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 5 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.
Typical snowfall in Catron County, NM
NOAA's 30-year normal for Catron County: 17.6 in. of snow a year, from the QUEMADO, NM US station. 31.1 mi is a real gap between Catron County and its nearest reporting station, so local snowfall can diverge from this figure, especially near elevation changes. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Catron 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.
Catron 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. (How this figure is calculated.)