Goochland County, VA Roof Snow Load - 20 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Goochland County, VA?
20 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Goochland County to carry. ASCE 7's low-slope-roof minimum (§7.3.4) raises the governing figure to 20 psf - higher than the 17.5 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.
Goochland County in numbers
- Design roof snow load20 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map25 psf
- National rank#879 of 2,758
- Virginia rank#47 of 110
- Population28,223
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal10.2 in.
- FIPS51075
How Goochland County compares
20 psf ranks #879 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 32%) - and #47 of 110 in Virginia. 18.3 psf is Virginia's typical county figure - Goochland County beats it by 1.7 psf.
Population 28,223 (FIPS 51075), roughly 37.7188°N 77.9176°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 Goochland County, VA
NOAA's 30-year normal for Goochland County: 10.2 in. of snow a year, from the CROZIER, VA US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Goochland 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.
Goochland 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.)