Harlan County, KY Roof Snow Load - 15 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Harlan County, KY?
15 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Harlan County to carry. The physics-based figure alone would be 10.5 psf, but ASCE 7's own low-slope minimum (§7.3.4) sets a floor of 15 psf for flat and low-pitch roofs here, which is the number that actually governs.
Picture it, not just weigh it: 33 in. if it's fresh powder, 12 in. once it settles, or a mere 3 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.
Harlan County in numbers
- Design roof snow load15 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map15 psf
- National rank#1,440 of 2,758
- Kentucky rank#52 of 120
- Population25,052
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal34.6 in.
- FIPS21095
How Harlan County compares
15 psf ranks #1,440 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 52%) - and #52 of 120 in Kentucky. 15.7 psf is Kentucky's typical county figure - Harlan County comes in 0.7 psf under it.
Population 25,052 (FIPS 21095), roughly 36.8592°N 83.2215°W. The 15 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 15 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.
Typical snowfall in Harlan County, KY
NOAA's 30-year normal for Harlan County: 34.6 in. of snow a year, from the CLOSPLINT 4 ESE, KY US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Harlan 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.
Harlan 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. Details: the calculation guide.