Laramie County, WY Roof Snow Load - 20 psf
Laramie County, WY: your roof's ASCE 7 snow number, in plain English
Laramie County's roofs are built to hold 20 psf of snow, the ASCE 7-22 figure a permit reviewer checks first. ASCE 7's low-slope-roof minimum (§7.3.4) raises the governing figure to 20 psf - higher than the 14 psf the ground-load formula alone would give, and the code says use the larger one.
In depth, not weight: that's roughly 44 inches of fresh, light snow, 16 inches of old, settled snow, or as little as 4 inches of solid ice - snow that heavy is rare here but ice from a freeze-thaw cycle adds up far faster than the depth suggests. 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.
Laramie County in numbers
- Design roof snow load20 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map20 psf
- National rank#650 of 2,758
- Wyoming rank#1 of 18
- Population101,783
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal47.1 in.
- FIPS56021
Laramie County by the numbers
Nationally that's #650 out of 2,758 rated counties, the top 24%; within Wyoming alone, Laramie County ranks #1 of 18. 17.5 psf is Wyoming's typical county figure - Laramie County beats it by 2.5 psf.
Laramie County, FIPS 56021, is home to 101,783 people near 41.2928°N 104.6604°W. Its 20 psf ground snow load figure is the map value; 20 psf is what a roof is actually designed for.
Laramie County's snowfall, most winters
47.1 in. a year: that's Laramie County's NOAA 1991-2020 snowfall normal, measured at ARCHER, WY US (9.8 mi away). See the density guide.
Before you rely on Laramie County's number
Treat the Laramie County figure as a starting point, not a final answer: it assumes standard occupancy, a heated structure and a moderately sheltered site, per ASCE 7-22's own defaults. Exposed terrain, an unheated building or a steeper roof all shift the real number.
For a real application, skip the county number and go straight to the ASCE 7 Hazard Tool - enter your coordinates and it returns a site-specific figure a plan reviewer will recognize. (How this figure is calculated.)