Fauquier County, VA Roof Snow Load - 21 psf
Fauquier County, VA roof snow load, translated
A typical heated home in Fauquier 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.
Got real snow on a Fauquier County roof right now?
Fauquier County at a glance
- Design roof snow load21 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map30 psf
- National rank#428 of 2,758
- Virginia rank#3 of 110
- Population75,865
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal19.8 in.
- FIPS51061
Where Fauquier County ranks
#3 of 110 Virginia counties by design load, top 16% of 2,758 nationally - that's Fauquier County's spot. Virginia counties average 18.3 psf; Fauquier County runs 2.7 psf higher than that.
FIPS 51061, population 75,865, centered near 38.7441°N 77.8215°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.
Fauquier County: average annual snowfall
Fauquier County sees about 19.8 in. of snow most winters, per the THE PLAINS 2 NNE, VA US station's 1991-2020 NOAA normal. See the density guide.
Read this before you use Fauquier 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.)