Kent County, TX Roof Snow Load - 5 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Kent County, TX?
5 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Kent County to carry. ASCE 7's low-slope-roof minimum (§7.3.4) raises the governing figure to 5 psf - higher than the 3.5 psf the ground-load formula alone would give, and the code says use the larger one.
Picture it, not just weigh it: 11 in. if it's fresh powder, 4 in. once it settles, or a mere 1 in. if it's ice. This is a modest add-on to standard roof loading - ordinary residential construction carries it without extra bracing.
Kent County in numbers
- Design roof snow load5 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map5 psf
- National rank#2,467 of 2,758
- Texas rank#202 of 254
- Population703
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal2.7 in.
- FIPS48263
How Kent County compares
5 psf ranks #2,467 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 89%) - and #202 of 254 in Texas. 5.4 psf is Texas's typical county figure - Kent County comes in 0.4 psf under it.
Population 703 (FIPS 48263), roughly 33.1848°N 100.7697°W. The 5 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 5 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.
Typical snowfall in Kent County, TX
NOAA's 30-year normal for Kent County: 2.7 in. of snow a year, from the PITCHFORK RCH, TX US station. 31.8 mi is a real gap between Kent County and its nearest reporting station, so local snowfall can diverge from this figure, especially near elevation changes. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Kent 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.
Kent 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.