SnowLoadCheck

Jackson County, NC Roof Snow Load - 15 psf

What ASCE 7 says about snow load in Jackson County

Moderate
15 psf

That's Jackson County's design roof snow load per ASCE 7-22, for a typical heated single-family home - the number a permit reviewer starts from. ASCE 7's low-slope-roof minimum (§7.3.4) raises the governing figure to 15 psf - higher than the 10.5 psf the ground-load formula alone would give, and the code says use the larger one.

Converted to something you can actually eyeball on a roof: about 33 in. of fresh powder, 12 in. once it settles and packs down, or just 3 in. if it's turned to ice. This is a meaningful design load - most modern-code homes handle it fine, though an addition, a carport or a flat-roofed section can be a weak spot.

Already snow on the roof in Jackson County?

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Jackson County in numbers

Where Jackson County's figure sits nationally

Out of 2,758 rated US counties, Jackson County sits at #1,386, the top 50% nationally - #36 of 100 within North Carolina. That's 2.1 psf above North Carolina's own county-average design load of 12.9 psf.

Near 35.2855°N 83.124°W, FIPS 37099: Jackson County counts 45,281 residents and a 15 psf map value, which the code's own factors turn into 15 psf.

How much it actually snows in Jackson County

Most winters bring Jackson County roughly 4.3 in. of snow - NOAA's normal at CULLOWHEE, NC US, 3.4 mi off. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)

Read this before you rely on it

Jackson 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 Jackson County's county-wide figure. (How this figure is calculated.)