Henry County, IA Roof Snow Load - 20 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Henry County, IA?
20 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Henry County to carry. §7.3.4's low-slope minimum of 20 psf is what actually governs on a flat or low-pitch roof here - higher than the 14 psf the base ground-load formula gives.
Picture it, not just weigh it: 44 in. if it's fresh powder, 16 in. once it settles, or a mere 4 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.
Henry County in numbers
- Design roof snow load20 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map20 psf
- National rank#968 of 2,758
- Iowa rank#66 of 99
- Population19,361
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal25.7 in.
- FIPS19087
How Henry County compares
20 psf ranks #968 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 35%) - and #66 of 99 in Iowa. Iowa counties average 21.7 psf; Henry County runs 1.7 psf lower than that.
Population 19,361 (FIPS 19087), roughly 40.9848°N 91.5473°W. The 20 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 20 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.
Typical snowfall in Henry County, IA
NOAA's 30-year normal for Henry County: 25.7 in. of snow a year, from the OAKLAND MILLS 3 W, IA US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Henry 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.
Henry 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. (How this figure is calculated.)