Marengo County, AL Roof Snow Load - 5 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Marengo County, AL?
5 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Marengo County to carry. Flat and low-pitch roofs in Marengo County are actually governed by ASCE 7's §7.3.4 minimum of 5 psf, not the 3.5 psf the ground-load formula alone would produce.
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.
Marengo County at a glance
- Design roof snow load5 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map5 psf
- National rank#2,309 of 2,758
- Alabama rank#41 of 67
- Population18,512
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal0.2 in.
- FIPS01091
How Marengo County compares
5 psf ranks #2,309 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 84%) - and #41 of 67 in Alabama. That's 0.6 psf below Alabama's own county-average design load of 5.6 psf.
Population 18,512 (FIPS 01091), roughly 32.2476°N 87.7911°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 Marengo County, AL
NOAA's 30-year normal for Marengo County: 0.2 in. of snow a year, from the DEMOPOLIS L&D, AL US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Marengo 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.
Marengo 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. Details: the calculation guide.