Cobb County, GA Roof Snow Load - 5 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Cobb County, GA?
5 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Cobb County to carry. The physics-based figure alone would be 3.5 psf, but ASCE 7's own low-slope minimum (§7.3.4) sets a floor of 5 psf for flat and low-pitch roofs here, which is the number that actually governs.
Picture it, not just weigh it: 11 in. if it's fresh powder, 4 in. once it settles, or a mere 1 in. if it's ice. Standard residential construction handles a load this size without extra bracing; it is a modest addition on top of ordinary roof loading.
Cobb County in numbers
- Design roof snow load5 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map5 psf
- National rank#2,076 of 2,758
- Georgia rank#21 of 159
- Population787,538
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal1.2 in.
- FIPS13067
How Cobb County compares
5 psf ranks #2,076 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 75%) - and #21 of 159 in Georgia. 3.6 psf is Georgia's typical county figure - Cobb County beats it by 1.4 psf.
Population 787,538 (FIPS 13067), roughly 33.9399°N 84.5741°W. The 5 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 5 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.
Typical snowfall in Cobb County, GA
NOAA's 30-year normal for Cobb County: 1.2 in. of snow a year, from the MABLETON 1 N, GA US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Cobb 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.
Cobb 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.