Houston County, TN Roof Snow Load - 10 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Houston County, TN?
10 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Houston County to carry. ASCE 7's low-slope-roof minimum (§7.3.4) raises the governing figure to 10 psf - higher than the 7 psf the ground-load formula alone would give, and the code says use the larger one.
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. This is a modest add-on to standard roof loading - ordinary residential construction carries it without extra bracing.
Got real snow on a Houston County roof right now?
Houston County at a glance
- Design roof snow load10 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map10 psf
- National rank#2,011 of 2,758
- Tennessee rank#89 of 95
- Population8,538
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal3.8 in.
- FIPS47083
How Houston County compares
10 psf ranks #2,011 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 73%) - and #89 of 95 in Tennessee. Tennessee counties average 10.3 psf; Houston County runs 0.3 psf lower than that.
Population 8,538 (FIPS 47083), roughly 36.2858°N 87.7056°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 Houston County, TN
NOAA's 30-year normal for Houston County: 3.8 in. of snow a year, from the DOVER 1 W, TN US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Houston 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.
Houston 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.