Cherokee County, OK Roof Snow Load - 10 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Cherokee County, OK?
10 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Cherokee County to carry. ASCE 7's low-slope-roof minimum (§7.3.4) raises the governing figure to 10 psf - higher than the 7 psf the ground-load formula alone would give, and the code says use the larger one.
Picture it, not just weigh it: 22 in. if it's fresh powder, 8 in. once it settles, or a mere 2 in. if it's ice. A modest addition to standard roof loading. Ordinary residential construction handles this without extra bracing.
Cherokee County, OK: quick facts
- Design roof snow load10 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map10 psf
- National rank#1,784 of 2,758
- Oklahoma rank#34 of 77
- Population48,729
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal4.3 in.
- FIPS40021
How Cherokee County compares
10 psf ranks #1,784 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 65%) - and #34 of 77 in Oklahoma. That's 1 psf below Oklahoma's own county-average design load of 11 psf.
Population 48,729 (FIPS 40021), roughly 35.9044°N 94.9968°W. The 10 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 10 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.
Typical snowfall in Cherokee County, OK
NOAA's 30-year normal for Cherokee County: 4.3 in. of snow a year, from the TAHLEQUAH, OK US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Cherokee 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.
Cherokee 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. Details: the calculation guide.