Chaves County, NM Roof Snow Load - 5 psf
Chaves County, NM: your roof's ASCE 7 snow number, in plain English
Chaves County's roofs are built to hold 5 psf of snow, the ASCE 7-22 figure a permit reviewer checks first. ASCE 7's low-slope-roof minimum (§7.3.4) raises the governing figure to 5 psf - higher than the 3.5 psf the ground-load formula alone would give, and the code says use the larger one.
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. This is a modest add-on to standard roof loading - ordinary residential construction carries it without extra bracing.
Chaves County at a glance
- Design roof snow load5 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map5 psf
- National rank#2,172 of 2,758
- New Mexico rank#16 of 27
- Population63,697
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal9.6 in.
- FIPS35005
Chaves County by the numbers
Nationally that's #2,172 out of 2,758 rated counties, the top 79%; within New Mexico alone, Chaves County ranks #16 of 27. New Mexico counties average 6.9 psf; Chaves County runs 1.9 psf lower than that.
Chaves County, FIPS 35005, is home to 63,697 people near 33.3616°N 104.4698°W. Its 5 psf ground snow load figure is the map value; 5 psf is what a roof is actually designed for.
Chaves County's snowfall, most winters
9.6 in. a year: that's Chaves County's NOAA 1991-2020 snowfall normal, measured at ROSWELL IND AIR PK, NM US (4.3 mi away). See the density guide.
Before you rely on Chaves County's number
Treat the Chaves 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. See the methodology guide.