Chesapeake city, VA Roof Snow Load - 10 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Chesapeake city, VA?
10 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Chesapeake city 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. This is a modest add-on to standard roof loading - ordinary residential construction carries it without extra bracing.
Chesapeake city, VA: quick facts
- Design roof snow load10 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map10 psf
- National rank#1,674 of 2,758
- Virginia rank#103 of 110
- Population254,997
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal6.2 in.
- FIPS51550
How Chesapeake city compares
10 psf ranks #1,674 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 61%) - and #103 of 110 in Virginia. 18.3 psf is Virginia's typical county figure - Chesapeake city comes in 8.3 psf under it.
Population 254,997 (FIPS 51550), roughly 36.6794°N 76.3018°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 Chesapeake city, VA
NOAA's 30-year normal for Chesapeake city: 6.2 in. of snow a year, from the NORFOLK INTL AP, VA US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Chesapeake city 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.
Chesapeake city'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.)