Martin County, KY Roof Snow Load - 15 psf
Martin County, KY roof snow load, translated
A typical heated home in Martin County is designed to carry 15 pounds per square foot of snow on its roof, per ASCE 7-22. 10.5 psf is what the ground-load formula alone gives; Martin County's 15 psf low-slope minimum (§7.3.4) beats it, so that figure is the one that governs on flat and low-pitch roofs.
On a roof that means 33 in. of fresh snow, 12 in. once it packs down, or 3 in. of solid ice - three very different piles for the same load. A meaningful design load. Most homes built to modern code handle it, but additions, carports, and flat-roofed sections are worth a second look.
Martin County at a glance
- Design roof snow load15 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map15 psf
- National rank#1,547 of 2,758
- Kentucky rank#100 of 120
- Population10,696
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal17.4 in.
- FIPS21159
Where Martin County ranks
#100 of 120 Kentucky counties by design load, top 56% of 2,758 nationally - that's Martin County's spot. 15.7 psf is Kentucky's typical county figure - Martin County comes in 0.7 psf under it.
FIPS 21159, population 10,696, centered near 37.7968°N 82.5066°W. ASCE 7's underlying ground snow load here is 15 psf before the code's exposure and importance factors bring it to the 15 psf design figure above.
Martin County: average annual snowfall
Martin County sees about 17.4 in. of snow most winters, per the DUNLOW 1 SW, WV US station's 1991-2020 NOAA normal. See the density guide.
Read this before you use Martin County's figure
The figure above assumes the case ASCE 7-22 treats as typical: a heated, ordinary-occupancy home on a partially exposed site. Change any of those - exposure, heating, roof pitch, occupancy category - and the real design number moves.
A building permit needs the number at your exact address, not the county average - the free ASCE 7 Hazard Tool returns that from your coordinates in about a minute and produces a PDF a plan reviewer will accept. (How this figure is calculated.)