Jackson County, AL Roof Snow Load - 10 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Jackson County, AL?
10 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Jackson County to carry. Flat and low-pitch roofs in Jackson County are actually governed by ASCE 7's §7.3.4 minimum of 10 psf, not the 7 psf the ground-load formula alone would produce.
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. A modest addition to standard roof loading. Ordinary residential construction handles this without extra bracing.
Jackson County at a glance
- Design roof snow load10 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map10 psf
- National rank#1,775 of 2,758
- Alabama rank#11 of 67
- Population53,780
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal1.3 in.
- FIPS01071
How Jackson County compares
10 psf ranks #1,775 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 64%) - and #11 of 67 in Alabama. 5.6 psf is Alabama's typical county figure - Jackson County beats it by 4.4 psf.
Population 53,780 (FIPS 01071), roughly 34.7641°N 85.9801°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 Jackson County, AL
NOAA's 30-year normal for Jackson County: 1.3 in. of snow a year, from the SCOTTSBORO, AL US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Jackson 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.
Jackson 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. (How this figure is calculated.)