Chowan County, NC Roof Snow Load - 10 psf
Chowan County, NC: your roof's ASCE 7 snow number, in plain English
Chowan County's roofs are built to hold 10 psf of snow, the ASCE 7-22 figure a permit reviewer checks first. Flat and low-pitch roofs in Chowan County are actually governed by ASCE 7's §7.3.4 minimum of 10 psf, not the 7 psf the ground-load formula alone would produce.
In depth, not weight: that's roughly 22 inches of fresh, light snow, 8 inches of old, settled snow, or as little as 2 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. Standard residential construction handles a load this size without extra bracing; it is a modest addition on top of ordinary roof loading.
Chowan County at a glance
- Design roof snow load10 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map10 psf
- National rank#1,961 of 2,758
- North Carolina rank#90 of 100
- Population13,891
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal2.3 in.
- FIPS37041
Chowan County by the numbers
Nationally that's #1,961 out of 2,758 rated counties, the top 71%; within North Carolina alone, Chowan County ranks #90 of 100. That's 2.9 psf below North Carolina's own county-average design load of 12.9 psf.
Chowan County, FIPS 37041, is home to 13,891 people near 36.129°N 76.6028°W. Its 10 psf ground snow load figure is the map value; 10 psf is what a roof is actually designed for.
Chowan County's snowfall, most winters
2.3 in. a year: that's Chowan County's NOAA 1991-2020 snowfall normal, measured at EDENTON, NC US (8.3 mi away). See the density guide.
Before you rely on Chowan County's number
Treat the Chowan 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. (How this figure is calculated.)