Itasca County, MN Roof Snow Load - 49 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Itasca County, MN?
49 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Itasca County to carry.
Picture it, not just weigh it: 107.8 in. if it's fresh powder, 39.2 in. once it settles, or a mere 9.8 in. if it's ice. This is a serious structural load - older homes built before modern snow-load provisions, or ones with low-slope or flat roof sections, are worth having checked.
Got real snow on a Itasca County roof right now?
Itasca County in numbers
- Design roof snow load49 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map70 psf
- National rank#13 of 2,758
- Minnesota rank#3 of 87
- Population45,442
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal64.1 in.
- FIPS27061
How Itasca County compares
49 psf ranks #13 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 1%) - and #3 of 87 in Minnesota. 37.4 psf is Minnesota's typical county figure - Itasca County beats it by 11.6 psf.
Population 45,442 (FIPS 27061), roughly 47.4908°N 93.6111°W. The 70 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 49 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.
Typical snowfall in Itasca County, MN
NOAA's 30-year normal for Itasca County: 64.1 in. of snow a year, from the MARCELL 5NE, MN US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Itasca 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.
Itasca 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.