SnowLoadCheck

Hughes County, SD Roof Snow Load - 28 psf

Hughes County, SD roof snow load, translated

Moderate
28 psf

A typical heated home in Hughes County is designed to carry 28 pounds per square foot of snow on its roof, per ASCE 7-22.

On a roof that means 61.6 in. of fresh snow, 22.4 in. once it packs down, or 5.6 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.

Hughes County at a glance

Where Hughes County ranks

#25 of 65 South Dakota counties by design load, top 9% of 2,758 nationally - that's Hughes County's spot. 28.2 psf is South Dakota's typical county figure - Hughes County comes in 0.2 psf under it.

FIPS 46065, population 17,526, centered near 44.3845°N 99.9757°W. ASCE 7's underlying ground snow load here is 40 psf before the code's exposure and importance factors bring it to the 28 psf design figure above.

Hughes County: average annual snowfall

Hughes County sees about 40 in. of snow most winters, per the HARROLD 12 SSW, SD US station's 1991-2020 NOAA normal. See the density guide.

Read this before you use Hughes 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. Details: the calculation guide.