Coffey County, KS Roof Snow Load - 20 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Coffey County, KS?
20 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Coffey County to carry. The physics-based figure alone would be 14 psf, but ASCE 7's own low-slope minimum (§7.3.4) sets a floor of 20 psf for flat and low-pitch roofs here, which is the number that actually governs.
Picture it, not just weigh it: 44 in. if it's fresh powder, 16 in. once it settles, or a mere 4 in. if it's ice. This is a meaningful design load - most modern-code homes handle it fine, though an addition, a carport or a flat-roofed section can be a weak spot.
Coffey County in numbers
- Design roof snow load20 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map20 psf
- National rank#1,144 of 2,758
- Kansas rank#31 of 105
- Population8,301
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal5.7 in.
- FIPS20031
How Coffey County compares
20 psf ranks #1,144 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 41%) - and #31 of 105 in Kansas. Kansas counties average 18.2 psf; Coffey County runs 1.8 psf higher than that.
Population 8,301 (FIPS 20031), roughly 38.2364°N 95.7291°W. The 20 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 20 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.
Typical snowfall in Coffey County, KS
NOAA's 30-year normal for Coffey County: 5.7 in. of snow a year, from the GRIDLEY, KS US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Coffey 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.
Coffey 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. (How this figure is calculated.)