SnowLoadCheck

Iron County, MI Roof Snow Load - 42 psf

What ASCE 7 says about snow load in Iron County

Heavy
42 psf

That's Iron County's design roof snow load per ASCE 7-22, for a typical heated single-family home - the number a permit reviewer starts from.

Converted to something you can actually eyeball on a roof: about 92.4 in. of fresh powder, 33.6 in. once it settles and packs down, or just 8.4 in. if it's turned to ice. A serious structural load. Homes built before modern snow-load provisions, or with low-slope/flat roof sections, are the ones most worth having checked.

Iron County, MI: quick facts

Where Iron County's figure sits nationally

Out of 2,758 rated US counties, Iron County sits at #70, the top 3% nationally - #21 of 70 within Michigan. That's 10.3 psf above Michigan's own county-average design load of 31.7 psf.

Near 46.1703°N 88.5405°W, FIPS 26071: Iron County counts 11,709 residents and a 60 psf map value, which the code's own factors turn into 42 psf.

How much it actually snows in Iron County

Most winters bring Iron County roughly 67.4 in. of snow - NOAA's normal at STAMBAUGH 2SSE, MI US, 9 mi off. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)

Read this before you rely on it

Iron County's number above is ASCE 7-22's default case, not a custom calculation: ordinary residential occupancy, heated, sited on ground that's neither fully sheltered nor fully exposed. Any one of those changing - pitch, exposure, heating, occupancy - moves the real figure.

Nothing here substitutes for an address-level number. Get one free, in about a minute, from the ASCE 7 Hazard Tool using your own coordinates rather than Iron County's county-wide figure. See the methodology guide.