SnowLoadCheck

Chautauqua County, KS Roof Snow Load - 15 psf

What ASCE 7 says about snow load in Chautauqua County

Moderate
15 psf

That's Chautauqua County's design roof snow load per ASCE 7-22, for a typical heated single-family home - the number a permit reviewer starts from. The physics-based figure alone would be 10.5 psf, but ASCE 7's own low-slope minimum (§7.3.4) sets a floor of 15 psf for flat and low-pitch roofs here, which is the number that actually governs.

Converted to something you can actually eyeball on a roof: about 33 in. of fresh powder, 12 in. once it settles and packs down, or just 3 in. if it's turned to ice. Modern-code homes carry a load like this without issue; an older addition, a carport, or any flat-roofed section is where it is worth checking first.

Chautauqua County at a glance

Where Chautauqua County's figure sits nationally

Out of 2,758 rated US counties, Chautauqua County sits at #1,628, the top 59% nationally - #96 of 105 within Kansas. Kansas counties average 18.2 psf; Chautauqua County runs 3.2 psf lower than that.

Near 37.1543°N 96.2454°W, FIPS 20019: Chautauqua County counts 3,339 residents and a 15 psf map value, which the code's own factors turn into 15 psf.

How much it actually snows in Chautauqua County

Most winters bring Chautauqua County roughly 7.2 in. of snow - NOAA's normal at ELGIN, KS US, 10.3 mi off. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)

Read this before you rely on it

Chautauqua 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 Chautauqua County's county-wide figure. See the methodology guide.