Kearney County, NE Roof Snow Load - 20 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Kearney County, NE?
20 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Kearney County to carry. 17.5 psf is what the ground-load formula alone gives; Kearney County's 20 psf low-slope minimum (§7.3.4) beats it, so that figure is the one that governs on flat and low-pitch roofs.
Picture it, not just weigh it: 44 in. if it's fresh powder, 16 in. once it settles, or a mere 4 in. if it's ice. Modern-code homes carry a load like this without issue; an older addition, a carport, or any flat-roofed section is where it is worth checking first.
Kearney County in numbers
- Design roof snow load20 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map25 psf
- National rank#1,175 of 2,758
- Nebraska rank#48 of 93
- Population6,749
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal23.8 in.
- FIPS31099
How Kearney County compares
20 psf ranks #1,175 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 43%) - and #48 of 93 in Nebraska. That's 0.2 psf below Nebraska's own county-average design load of 20.2 psf.
Population 6,749 (FIPS 31099), roughly 40.5091°N 98.9476°W. The 25 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 20 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.
Typical snowfall in Kearney County, NE
NOAA's 30-year normal for Kearney County: 23.8 in. of snow a year, from the WILCOX 0.3 SW, NE US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Kearney 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.
Kearney 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. See the methodology guide.