SnowLoadCheck

Graham County, KS Roof Snow Load - 20 psf

What ASCE 7 says about snow load in Graham County

Moderate
20 psf

That's Graham County's design roof snow load per ASCE 7-22, for a typical heated single-family home - the number a permit reviewer starts from. The physics-based figure alone would be 17.5 psf, but ASCE 7's own low-slope minimum (§7.3.4) sets a floor of 20 psf for flat and low-pitch roofs here, which is the number that actually governs.

Converted to something you can actually eyeball on a roof: about 44 in. of fresh powder, 16 in. once it settles and packs down, or just 4 in. if it's turned to 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.

Graham County at a glance

Where Graham County's figure sits nationally

Out of 2,758 rated US counties, Graham County sits at #1,272, the top 46% nationally - #66 of 105 within Kansas. Kansas counties average 18.2 psf; Graham County runs 1.8 psf higher than that.

Near 39.355°N 99.8799°W, FIPS 20065: Graham County counts 2,370 residents and a 25 psf map value, which the code's own factors turn into 20 psf.

How much it actually snows in Graham County

Most winters bring Graham County roughly 17.4 in. of snow - NOAA's normal at HILL CITY 1E, KS US, 2.8 mi off. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)

Read this before you rely on it

Graham County's number above is ASCE 7-22's default case, not a custom calculation: ordinary residential occupancy, heated, sited on ground that's neither fully sheltered nor fully exposed. Any one of those changing - pitch, exposure, heating, occupancy - moves the real figure.

Nothing here substitutes for an address-level number. Get one free, in about a minute, from the ASCE 7 Hazard Tool using your own coordinates rather than Graham County's county-wide figure. See the methodology guide.