SnowLoadCheck

Delaware County, IA Roof Snow Load - 21 psf

Delaware County, IA roof snow load, translated

Moderate
21 psf

A typical heated home in Delaware County is designed to carry 21 pounds per square foot of snow on its roof, per ASCE 7-22.

On a roof that means 46.2 in. of fresh snow, 16.8 in. once it packs down, or 4.2 in. of solid ice - three very different piles for the same load. A meaningful design load. Most homes built to modern code handle it, but additions, carports, and flat-roofed sections are worth a second look.

Delaware County at a glance

Where Delaware County ranks

#34 of 99 Iowa counties by design load, top 17% of 2,758 nationally - that's Delaware County's spot. 21.7 psf is Iowa's typical county figure - Delaware County comes in 0.7 psf under it.

FIPS 19055, population 17,609, centered near 42.473°N 91.3668°W. ASCE 7's underlying ground snow load here is 30 psf before the code's exposure and importance factors bring it to the 21 psf design figure above.

Delaware County: average annual snowfall

Delaware County sees about 34.7 in. of snow most winters, per the MANCHESTER #2, IA US station's 1991-2020 NOAA normal. See the density guide.

Read this before you use Delaware 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. (How this figure is calculated.)