SnowLoadCheck

Cibola County, NM Roof Snow Load - 5 psf

Cibola County, NM: your roof's ASCE 7 snow number, in plain English

Light
5 psf

Cibola County's roofs are built to hold 5 psf of snow, the ASCE 7-22 figure a permit reviewer checks first. §7.3.4's low-slope minimum of 5 psf is what actually governs on a flat or low-pitch roof here - higher than the 3.5 psf the base ground-load formula gives.

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. A modest addition to standard roof loading. Ordinary residential construction handles this without extra bracing.

Cibola County in numbers

Cibola County by the numbers

Nationally that's #2,251 out of 2,758 rated counties, the top 82%; within New Mexico alone, Cibola County ranks #19 of 27. 6.9 psf is New Mexico's typical county figure - Cibola County comes in 1.9 psf under it.

Cibola County, FIPS 35006, is home to 26,686 people near 34.9283°N 107.9927°W. Its 5 psf ground snow load figure is the map value; 5 psf is what a roof is actually designed for.

Cibola County's snowfall, most winters

7.9 in. a year: that's Cibola County's NOAA 1991-2020 snowfall normal, measured at GRANTS AP, NM US (17.3 mi away). See the density guide.

Before you rely on Cibola County's number

Treat the Cibola 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.)