Freeborn County, MN Roof Snow Load - 35 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Freeborn County, MN?
35 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Freeborn County to carry.
Picture it, not just weigh it: 77 in. if it's fresh powder, 28 in. once it settles, or a mere 7 in. if it's ice. A serious structural load. Homes built before modern snow-load provisions, or with low-slope/flat roof sections, are the ones most worth having checked.
Already snow on the roof in Freeborn County?
Freeborn County in numbers
- Design roof snow load35 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map50 psf
- National rank#145 of 2,758
- Minnesota rank#55 of 87
- Population30,314
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal39.5 in.
- FIPS27047
How Freeborn County compares
35 psf ranks #145 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 5%) - and #55 of 87 in Minnesota. Minnesota counties average 37.4 psf; Freeborn County runs 2.4 psf lower than that.
Population 30,314 (FIPS 27047), roughly 43.6742°N 93.3503°W. The 50 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 35 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.
Typical snowfall in Freeborn County, MN
NOAA's 30-year normal for Freeborn County: 39.5 in. of snow a year, from the ALBERT LEA 3SE, MN US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Freeborn 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.
Freeborn 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.