Franklin County, VA Roof Snow Load - 20 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Franklin County, VA?
20 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Franklin County to carry. Flat and low-pitch roofs in Franklin County are actually governed by ASCE 7's §7.3.4 minimum of 20 psf, not the 17.5 psf the ground-load formula alone would produce.
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. A meaningful design load. Most homes built to modern code handle it, but additions, carports, and flat-roofed sections are worth a second look.
Franklin County in numbers
- Design roof snow load20 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map25 psf
- National rank#717 of 2,758
- Virginia rank#27 of 110
- Population55,637
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal12.6 in.
- FIPS51067
How Franklin County compares
20 psf ranks #717 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 26%) - and #27 of 110 in Virginia. Virginia counties average 18.3 psf; Franklin County runs 1.7 psf higher than that.
Population 55,637 (FIPS 51067), roughly 36.9912°N 79.8827°W. The 25 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 20 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.
Typical snowfall in Franklin County, VA
NOAA's 30-year normal for Franklin County: 12.6 in. of snow a year, from the ROCKY MT, VA US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Franklin 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.
Franklin 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. (How this figure is calculated.)