Howard County, MO Roof Snow Load - 20 psf
Howard County, MO roof snow load, translated
A typical heated home in Howard County is designed to carry 20 pounds per square foot of snow on its roof, per ASCE 7-22. 14 psf is what the ground-load formula alone gives; Howard County's 20 psf low-slope minimum (§7.3.4) beats it, so that figure is the one that governs on flat and low-pitch roofs.
On a roof that means 44 in. of fresh snow, 16 in. once it packs down, or 4 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.
Howard County, MO: quick facts
- Design roof snow load20 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map20 psf
- National rank#1,098 of 2,758
- Missouri rank#59 of 115
- Population10,150
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal10.3 in.
- FIPS29089
Where Howard County ranks
#59 of 115 Missouri counties by design load, top 40% of 2,758 nationally - that's Howard County's spot. That's 1.4 psf above Missouri's own county-average design load of 18.6 psf.
FIPS 29089, population 10,150, centered near 39.1434°N 92.6959°W. ASCE 7's underlying ground snow load here is 20 psf before the code's exposure and importance factors bring it to the 20 psf design figure above.
Howard County: average annual snowfall
Howard County sees about 10.3 in. of snow most winters, per the NEW FRANKLIN 1W, MO US station's 1991-2020 NOAA normal. See the density guide.
Read this before you use Howard 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.