SnowLoadCheck

Emporia city, VA Roof Snow Load - 15 psf

Emporia city, VA: your roof's ASCE 7 snow number, in plain English

Moderate
15 psf

Emporia city's roofs are built to hold 15 psf of snow, the ASCE 7-22 figure a permit reviewer checks first. Flat and low-pitch roofs in Emporia city 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.

In depth, not weight: that's roughly 33 inches of fresh, light snow, 12 inches of old, settled snow, or as little as 3 inches of solid ice - snow that heavy is rare here but ice from a freeze-thaw cycle adds up far faster than the depth suggests. 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.

Emporia city in numbers

Emporia city by the numbers

Nationally that's #1,602 out of 2,758 rated counties, the top 58%; within Virginia alone, Emporia city ranks #100 of 110. Virginia counties average 18.3 psf; Emporia city runs 3.3 psf lower than that.

Emporia city, FIPS 51595, is home to 5,402 people near 36.6962°N 77.536°W. Its 15 psf ground snow load figure is the map value; 15 psf is what a roof is actually designed for.

Emporia city's snowfall, most winters

1.4 in. a year: that's Emporia city's NOAA 1991-2020 snowfall normal, measured at EMPORIA 1 WNW, VA US (1.3 mi away). See the density guide.

Before you rely on Emporia city's number

Treat the Emporia city figure as a starting point, not a final answer: it assumes standard occupancy, a heated structure and a moderately sheltered site, per ASCE 7-22's own defaults. Exposed terrain, an unheated building or a steeper roof all shift the real number.

For a real application, skip the county number and go straight to the ASCE 7 Hazard Tool - enter your coordinates and it returns a site-specific figure a plan reviewer will recognize. (How this figure is calculated.)