SnowLoadCheck

Cumberland County, PA Roof Snow Load - 20 psf

How much snow is too much for a roof in Cumberland County, PA?

Moderate
20 psf

20 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Cumberland County to carry. 17.5 psf is what the ground-load formula alone gives; Cumberland County's 20 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: 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.

Cumberland County in numbers

How Cumberland County compares

20 psf ranks #567 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 21%) - and #29 of 38 in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania counties average 20.9 psf; Cumberland County runs 0.9 psf lower than that.

Population 275,516 (FIPS 42041), roughly 40.1648°N 77.2634°W. The 25 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 20 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.

Typical snowfall in Cumberland County, PA

NOAA's 30-year normal for Cumberland County: 27.7 in. of snow a year, from the CARLISLE WTP, PA US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)

What this Cumberland 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.

Cumberland 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.)