Curry County, NM Roof Snow Load - 15 psf
What ASCE 7 says about snow load in Curry County
That's Curry County's design roof snow load per ASCE 7-22, for a typical heated single-family home - the number a permit reviewer starts from. Flat and low-pitch roofs in Curry County are actually governed by ASCE 7's §7.3.4 minimum of 15 psf, not the 10.5 psf the ground-load formula alone would produce.
Converted to something you can actually eyeball on a roof: about 33 in. of fresh powder, 12 in. once it settles and packs down, or just 3 in. if it's turned to 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.
Curry County in numbers
- Design roof snow load15 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map15 psf
- National rank#1,382 of 2,758
- New Mexico rank#1 of 27
- Population47,156
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal8.6 in.
- FIPS35009
Where Curry County's figure sits nationally
Out of 2,758 rated US counties, Curry County sits at #1,382, the top 50% nationally - #1 of 27 within New Mexico. New Mexico counties average 6.9 psf; Curry County runs 8.1 psf higher than that.
Near 34.573°N 103.3461°W, FIPS 35009: Curry County counts 47,156 residents and a 15 psf map value, which the code's own factors turn into 15 psf.
How much it actually snows in Curry County
Most winters bring Curry County roughly 8.6 in. of snow - NOAA's normal at CLOVIS 13 N, NM US, 7.6 mi off. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
Read this before you rely on it
Curry County's number above is ASCE 7-22's default case, not a custom calculation: ordinary residential occupancy, heated, sited on ground that's neither fully sheltered nor fully exposed. Any one of those changing - pitch, exposure, heating, occupancy - moves the real figure.
Nothing here substitutes for an address-level number. Get one free, in about a minute, from the ASCE 7 Hazard Tool using your own coordinates rather than Curry County's county-wide figure. (How this figure is calculated.)