Lyon County, NV Roof Snow Load - 5 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Lyon County, NV?
5 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Lyon County to carry. The physics-based figure alone would be 3.5 psf, but ASCE 7's own low-slope minimum (§7.3.4) sets a floor of 5 psf for flat and low-pitch roofs here, which is the number that actually governs.
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. A modest addition to standard roof loading. Ordinary residential construction handles this without extra bracing.
Lyon County at a glance
- Design roof snow load5 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map5 psf
- National rank#2,171 of 2,758
- Nevada rank#4 of 14
- Population63,718
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal21.8 in.
- FIPS32019
How Lyon County compares
5 psf ranks #2,171 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 79%) - and #4 of 14 in Nevada. That's 1.8 psf below Nevada's own county-average design load of 6.8 psf.
Population 63,718 (FIPS 32019), roughly 39.0222°N 119.1974°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 Lyon County, NV
NOAA's 30-year normal for Lyon County: 21.8 in. of snow a year, from the MINDEN, NV US station. That station is far enough away (31.4 mi) that local snowfall - especially at a different elevation or near a lake - can run noticeably higher or lower than this figure. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Lyon 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.
Lyon 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.