Kalkaska County, MI Roof Snow Load - 42 psf
Kalkaska County, MI roof snow load, translated
A typical heated home in Kalkaska County is designed to carry 42 pounds per square foot of snow on its roof, per ASCE 7-22.
On a roof that means 92.4 in. of fresh snow, 33.6 in. once it packs down, or 8.4 in. of solid ice - three very different piles for the same load. 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.
Kalkaska County, MI: quick facts
- Design roof snow load42 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map60 psf
- National rank#57 of 2,758
- Michigan rank#18 of 70
- Population18,618
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal132.1 in.
- FIPS26079
Where Kalkaska County ranks
#18 of 70 Michigan counties by design load, top 2% of 2,758 nationally - that's Kalkaska County's spot. 31.7 psf is Michigan's typical county figure - Kalkaska County beats it by 10.3 psf.
FIPS 26079, population 18,618, centered near 44.6789°N 85.089°W. ASCE 7's underlying ground snow load here is 60 psf before the code's exposure and importance factors bring it to the 42 psf design figure above.
Kalkaska County: average annual snowfall
Kalkaska County sees about 132.1 in. of snow most winters, per the KALKASKA, MI US station's 1991-2020 NOAA normal. See the density guide.
Read this before you use Kalkaska 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. See the methodology guide.