Grayson County, KY Roof Snow Load - 15 psf
Grayson County, KY roof snow load, translated
A typical heated home in Grayson County is designed to carry 15 pounds per square foot of snow on its roof, per ASCE 7-22. Flat and low-pitch roofs in Grayson County are actually governed by ASCE 7's §7.3.4 minimum of 15 psf, not the 10.5 psf the ground-load formula alone would produce.
On a roof that means 33 in. of fresh snow, 12 in. once it packs down, or 3 in. of solid ice - three very different piles for the same load. A meaningful design load. Most homes built to modern code handle it, but additions, carports, and flat-roofed sections are worth a second look.
Snow on Grayson County's roofs right now?
Grayson County, KY: quick facts
- Design roof snow load15 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map15 psf
- National rank#1,435 of 2,758
- Kentucky rank#49 of 120
- Population27,070
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal9.4 in.
- FIPS21085
Where Grayson County ranks
#49 of 120 Kentucky counties by design load, top 52% of 2,758 nationally - that's Grayson County's spot. 15.7 psf is Kentucky's typical county figure - Grayson County comes in 0.7 psf under it.
FIPS 21085, population 27,070, centered near 37.4586°N 86.344°W. ASCE 7's underlying ground snow load here is 15 psf before the code's exposure and importance factors bring it to the 15 psf design figure above.
Grayson County: average annual snowfall
Grayson County sees about 9.4 in. of snow most winters, per the LEITCHFIELD 2 N, KY US station's 1991-2020 NOAA normal. See the density guide.
Read this before you use Grayson County's figure
The figure above assumes the case ASCE 7-22 treats as typical: a heated, ordinary-occupancy home on a partially exposed site. Change any of those - exposure, heating, roof pitch, occupancy category - and the real design number moves.
A building permit needs the number at your exact address, not the county average - the free ASCE 7 Hazard Tool returns that from your coordinates in about a minute and produces a PDF a plan reviewer will accept. See the methodology guide.