Mason County, TX Roof Snow Load - 5 psf
What ASCE 7 says about snow load in Mason County
That's Mason County's design roof snow load per ASCE 7-22, for a typical heated single-family home - the number a permit reviewer starts from. The physics-based figure alone would be 3.5 psf, but ASCE 7's own low-slope minimum (§7.3.4) sets a floor of 5 psf for flat and low-pitch roofs here, which is the number that actually governs.
Converted to something you can actually eyeball on a roof: about 11 in. of fresh powder, 4 in. once it settles and packs down, or just 1 in. if it's turned to ice. This is a modest add-on to standard roof loading - ordinary residential construction carries it without extra bracing.
Mason County in numbers
- Design roof snow load5 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map5 psf
- National rank#2,440 of 2,758
- Texas rank#185 of 254
- Population3,987
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal0.2 in.
- FIPS48319
Where Mason County's figure sits nationally
Out of 2,758 rated US counties, Mason County sits at #2,440, the top 88% nationally - #185 of 254 within Texas. That's 0.4 psf below Texas's own county-average design load of 5.4 psf.
Near 30.7039°N 99.2373°W, FIPS 48319: Mason County counts 3,987 residents and a 5 psf map value, which the code's own factors turn into 5 psf.
How much it actually snows in Mason County
Most winters bring Mason County roughly 0.2 in. of snow - NOAA's normal at TAYLOR RCH, TX US, 25.5 mi off. 25.5 mi is a real gap between Mason County and its nearest reporting station, so local snowfall can diverge from this figure, especially near elevation changes. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
Read this before you rely on it
Mason 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 Mason County's county-wide figure. (How this figure is calculated.)