SnowLoadCheck

Coles County, IL Roof Snow Load - 20 psf

Coles County, IL: your roof's ASCE 7 snow number, in plain English

Moderate
20 psf

Coles County's roofs are built to hold 20 psf of snow, the ASCE 7-22 figure a permit reviewer checks first. Flat and low-pitch roofs in Coles County are actually governed by ASCE 7's §7.3.4 minimum of 20 psf, not the 14 psf the ground-load formula alone would produce.

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.

Coles County in numbers

Coles County by the numbers

Nationally that's #747 out of 2,758 rated counties, the top 27%; within Illinois alone, Coles County ranks #29 of 102. Illinois counties average 19.3 psf; Coles County runs 0.7 psf higher than that.

Coles County, FIPS 17029, is home to 46,423 people near 39.5137°N 88.2208°W. Its 20 psf ground snow load figure is the map value; 20 psf is what a roof is actually designed for.

Coles County's snowfall, most winters

19 in. a year: that's Coles County's NOAA 1991-2020 snowfall normal, measured at CHARLESTON, IL US (3.9 mi away). See the density guide.

Before you rely on Coles County's number

Treat the Coles 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.)