Hamilton County, KS Roof Snow Load - 10 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Hamilton County, KS?
10 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Hamilton County to carry. Flat and low-pitch roofs in Hamilton County are actually governed by ASCE 7's §7.3.4 minimum of 10 psf, not the 7 psf the ground-load formula alone would produce.
Picture it, not just weigh it: 22 in. if it's fresh powder, 8 in. once it settles, or a mere 2 in. if it's ice. A modest addition to standard roof loading. Ordinary residential construction handles this without extra bracing.
Hamilton County at a glance
- Design roof snow load10 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map10 psf
- National rank#2,056 of 2,758
- Kansas rank#104 of 105
- Population2,488
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal21.5 in.
- FIPS20075
How Hamilton County compares
10 psf ranks #2,056 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 75%) - and #104 of 105 in Kansas. That's 8.2 psf below Kansas's own county-average design load of 18.2 psf.
Population 2,488 (FIPS 20075), roughly 37.9952°N 101.7937°W. The 10 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 10 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.
Typical snowfall in Hamilton County, KS
NOAA's 30-year normal for Hamilton County: 21.5 in. of snow a year, from the HOLLY, CO US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Hamilton 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.
Hamilton 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. See the methodology guide.