Madison County, MS Roof Snow Load - 5 psf
Madison County, MS: your roof's ASCE 7 snow number, in plain English
Madison County's roofs are built to hold 5 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 5 psf - higher than the 3.5 psf the ground-load formula alone would give, and the code says use the larger one.
In depth, not weight: that's roughly 11 inches of fresh, light snow, 4 inches of old, settled snow, or as little as 1 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. This is a modest add-on to standard roof loading - ordinary residential construction carries it without extra bracing.
Madison County at a glance
- Design roof snow load5 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map5 psf
- National rank#2,139 of 2,758
- Mississippi rank#37 of 82
- Population114,247
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal0.5 in.
- FIPS28089
Madison County by the numbers
Nationally that's #2,139 out of 2,758 rated counties, the top 78%; within Mississippi alone, Madison County ranks #37 of 82. That's 1.5 psf below Mississippi's own county-average design load of 6.5 psf.
Madison County, FIPS 28089, is home to 114,247 people near 32.6344°N 90.0342°W. Its 5 psf ground snow load figure is the map value; 5 psf is what a roof is actually designed for.
Madison County's snowfall, most winters
0.5 in. a year: that's Madison County's NOAA 1991-2020 snowfall normal, measured at CANTON 4N, MS US (2.6 mi away). See the density guide.
Before you rely on Madison County's number
Treat the Madison 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. See the methodology guide.