Dawes County, NE Roof Snow Load - 15 psf
Dawes County, NE roof snow load, translated
A typical heated home in Dawes County is designed to carry 15 pounds per square foot of snow on its roof, per ASCE 7-22. 10.5 psf is what the ground-load formula alone gives; Dawes County's 15 psf low-slope minimum (§7.3.4) beats it, so that figure is the one that governs on flat and low-pitch roofs.
On a roof that means 33 in. of fresh snow, 12 in. once it packs down, or 3 in. of solid ice - three very different piles for the same load. 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.
Dawes County at a glance
- Design roof snow load15 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map15 psf
- National rank#1,574 of 2,758
- Nebraska rank#92 of 93
- Population8,003
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal50.3 in.
- FIPS31045
Where Dawes County ranks
#92 of 93 Nebraska counties by design load, top 57% of 2,758 nationally - that's Dawes County's spot. Nebraska counties average 20.2 psf; Dawes County runs 5.2 psf lower than that.
FIPS 31045, population 8,003, centered near 42.713°N 103.1354°W. ASCE 7's underlying ground snow load here is 15 psf before the code's exposure and importance factors bring it to the 15 psf design figure above.
Dawes County: average annual snowfall
Dawes County sees about 50.3 in. of snow most winters, per the CHADRON 3SW, NE US station's 1991-2020 NOAA normal. See the density guide.
Read this before you use Dawes County's figure
The figure above assumes the case ASCE 7-22 treats as typical: a heated, ordinary-occupancy home on a partially exposed site. Change any of those - exposure, heating, roof pitch, occupancy category - and the real design number moves.
A building permit needs the number at your exact address, not the county average - the free ASCE 7 Hazard Tool returns that from your coordinates in about a minute and produces a PDF a plan reviewer will accept. See the methodology guide.