Madison County, AL Roof Snow Load - 10 psf
What ASCE 7 says about snow load in Madison County
That's Madison County's design roof snow load per ASCE 7-22, for a typical heated single-family home - the number a permit reviewer starts from. §7.3.4's low-slope minimum of 10 psf is what actually governs on a flat or low-pitch roof here - higher than the 7 psf the base ground-load formula gives.
Converted to something you can actually eyeball on a roof: about 22 in. of fresh powder, 8 in. once it settles and packs down, or just 2 in. if it's turned to ice. A modest addition to standard roof loading. Ordinary residential construction handles this without extra bracing.
Madison County, AL: quick facts
- Design roof snow load10 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map10 psf
- National rank#1,659 of 2,758
- Alabama rank#1 of 67
- Population423,355
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal1.1 in.
- FIPS01089
Where Madison County's figure sits nationally
Out of 2,758 rated US counties, Madison County sits at #1,659, the top 60% nationally - #1 of 67 within Alabama. 5.6 psf is Alabama's typical county figure - Madison County beats it by 4.4 psf.
Near 34.7642°N 86.5511°W, FIPS 01089: Madison County counts 423,355 residents and a 10 psf map value, which the code's own factors turn into 10 psf.
How much it actually snows in Madison County
Most winters bring Madison County roughly 1.1 in. of snow - NOAA's normal at BELLE MINA 2 N, AL US, 19.5 mi off. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
Read this before you rely on it
Madison County's number above is ASCE 7-22's default case, not a custom calculation: ordinary residential occupancy, heated, sited on ground that's neither fully sheltered nor fully exposed. Any one of those changing - pitch, exposure, heating, occupancy - moves the real figure.
Nothing here substitutes for an address-level number. Get one free, in about a minute, from the ASCE 7 Hazard Tool using your own coordinates rather than Madison County's county-wide figure. (How this figure is calculated.)