Malheur County, OR Roof Snow Load - 10 psf
Malheur County, OR: your roof's ASCE 7 snow number, in plain English
Malheur County's roofs are built to hold 10 psf of snow, the ASCE 7-22 figure a permit reviewer checks first. Flat and low-pitch roofs in Malheur County are actually governed by ASCE 7's §7.3.4 minimum of 10 psf, not the 7 psf the ground-load formula alone would produce.
In depth, not weight: that's roughly 22 inches of fresh, light snow, 8 inches of old, settled snow, or as little as 2 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. A modest addition to standard roof loading. Ordinary residential construction handles this without extra bracing.
Malheur County, OR: quick facts
- Design roof snow load10 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map10 psf
- National rank#1,832 of 2,758
- Oregon rank#10 of 15
- Population32,315
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal6 in.
- FIPS41045
Malheur County by the numbers
Nationally that's #1,832 out of 2,758 rated counties, the top 66%; within Oregon alone, Malheur County ranks #10 of 15. That's 2 psf below Oregon's own county-average design load of 12 psf.
Malheur County, FIPS 41045, is home to 32,315 people near 43.1886°N 117.6032°W. Its 10 psf ground snow load figure is the map value; 10 psf is what a roof is actually designed for.
Malheur County's snowfall, most winters
6 in. a year: that's Malheur County's NOAA 1991-2020 snowfall normal, measured at OWYHEE DAM, OR US (36.6 mi away). Worth noting: the nearest station reporting snowfall normals sits 36.6 mi from Malheur County's center, so treat this as a regional figure rather than an exact one. See the density guide.
Before you rely on Malheur County's number
Treat the Malheur 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. Details: the calculation guide.