SnowLoadCheck

Clay County, MO Roof Snow Load - 20 psf

Clay County, MO: your roof's ASCE 7 snow number, in plain English

Moderate
20 psf

Clay County's roofs are built to hold 20 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 20 psf - higher than the 14 psf the ground-load formula alone would give, and the code says use the larger one.

In depth, not weight: that's roughly 44 inches of fresh, light snow, 16 inches of old, settled snow, or as little as 4 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. Modern-code homes carry a load like this without issue; an older addition, a carport, or any flat-roofed section is where it is worth checking first.

Snow on Clay County's roofs right now?

in. of

Clay County at a glance

Clay County by the numbers

Nationally that's #570 out of 2,758 rated counties, the top 21%; within Missouri alone, Clay County ranks #5 of 115. 18.6 psf is Missouri's typical county figure - Clay County beats it by 1.4 psf.

Clay County, FIPS 29047, is home to 263,370 people near 39.3156°N 94.4215°W. Its 20 psf ground snow load figure is the map value; 20 psf is what a roof is actually designed for.

Clay County's snowfall, most winters

11 in. a year: that's Clay County's NOAA 1991-2020 snowfall normal, measured at KANSAS CITY DOWNTOWN AP, MO US (16.4 mi away). See the density guide.

Before you rely on Clay County's number

Treat the Clay 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.)