Lamar County, AL Roof Snow Load - 10 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Lamar County, AL?
10 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Lamar County to carry. 7 psf is what the ground-load formula alone gives; Lamar County's 10 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: 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.
Lamar County, AL: quick facts
- Design roof snow load10 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map10 psf
- National rank#1,963 of 2,758
- Alabama rank#17 of 67
- Population13,543
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal0.5 in.
- FIPS01075
How Lamar County compares
10 psf ranks #1,963 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 71%) - and #17 of 67 in Alabama. Alabama counties average 5.6 psf; Lamar County runs 4.4 psf higher than that.
Population 13,543 (FIPS 01075), roughly 33.7871°N 88.0874°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 Lamar County, AL
NOAA's 30-year normal for Lamar County: 0.5 in. of snow a year, from the VERNON, AL US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Lamar 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.
Lamar 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.