SnowLoadCheck

Dickinson County, KS Roof Snow Load - 20 psf

How much snow is too much for a roof in Dickinson County, KS?

Moderate
20 psf

20 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Dickinson County to carry. ASCE 7's low-slope-roof minimum (§7.3.4) raises the governing figure to 20 psf - higher than the 14 psf the ground-load formula alone would give, and the code says use the larger one.

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. Modern-code homes carry a load like this without issue; an older addition, a carport, or any flat-roofed section is where it is worth checking first.

Snow on Dickinson County's roofs right now?

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Dickinson County in numbers

How Dickinson County compares

20 psf ranks #974 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 35%) - and #17 of 105 in Kansas. 18.2 psf is Kansas's typical county figure - Dickinson County beats it by 1.8 psf.

Population 18,621 (FIPS 20041), roughly 38.8677°N 97.1579°W. The 20 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 20 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.

Typical snowfall in Dickinson County, KS

NOAA's 30-year normal for Dickinson County: 13.1 in. of snow a year, from the HERINGTON, KS US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)

What this Dickinson 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.

Dickinson 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. Details: the calculation guide.