SnowLoadCheck

Gove County, KS Roof Snow Load - 20 psf

Gove County, KS: your roof's ASCE 7 snow number, in plain English

Moderate
20 psf

Gove County's roofs are built to hold 20 psf of snow, the ASCE 7-22 figure a permit reviewer checks first. Flat and low-pitch roofs in Gove County are actually governed by ASCE 7's §7.3.4 minimum of 20 psf, not the 14 psf the ground-load formula alone would produce.

In depth, not weight: that's roughly 44 inches of fresh, light snow, 16 inches of old, settled snow, or as little as 4 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.

Gove County at a glance

Gove County by the numbers

Nationally that's #1,263 out of 2,758 rated counties, the top 46%; within Kansas alone, Gove County ranks #60 of 105. 18.2 psf is Kansas's typical county figure - Gove County beats it by 1.8 psf.

Gove County, FIPS 20063, is home to 2,658 people near 38.9172°N 100.4874°W. Its 20 psf ground snow load figure is the map value; 20 psf is what a roof is actually designed for.

Gove County's snowfall, most winters

20.3 in. a year: that's Gove County's NOAA 1991-2020 snowfall normal, measured at GOVE 4W, KS US (4 mi away). See the density guide.

Before you rely on Gove County's number

Treat the Gove County 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.)