Comal County, TX Roof Snow Load - 5 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Comal County, TX?
5 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Comal County to carry. 3.5 psf is what the ground-load formula alone gives; Comal County's 5 psf low-slope minimum (§7.3.4) beats it, so that figure is the one that governs on flat and low-pitch roofs.
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. A modest addition to standard roof loading. Ordinary residential construction handles this without extra bracing.
Comal County, TX: quick facts
- Design roof snow load5 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map5 psf
- National rank#2,105 of 2,758
- Texas rank#55 of 254
- Population201,628
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal0.1 in.
- FIPS48091
How Comal County compares
5 psf ranks #2,105 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 76%) - and #55 of 254 in Texas. That's 0.4 psf below Texas's own county-average design load of 5.4 psf.
Population 201,628 (FIPS 48091), roughly 29.8124°N 98.2581°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 Comal County, TX
NOAA's 30-year normal for Comal County: 0.1 in. of snow a year, from the SPRING BRANCH 2SE, TX US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Comal 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.
Comal 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. See the methodology guide.