SnowLoadCheck

Meade County, SD Roof Snow Load - 21 psf

Meade County, SD roof snow load, translated

Moderate
21 psf

A typical heated home in Meade County is designed to carry 21 pounds per square foot of snow on its roof, per ASCE 7-22.

On a roof that means 46.2 in. of fresh snow, 16.8 in. once it packs down, or 4.2 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.

Meade County, SD: quick facts

Where Meade County ranks

#53 of 65 South Dakota counties by design load, top 16% of 2,758 nationally - that's Meade County's spot. 28.2 psf is South Dakota's typical county figure - Meade County comes in 7.2 psf under it.

FIPS 46093, population 30,918, centered near 44.6053°N 102.7142°W. ASCE 7's underlying ground snow load here is 30 psf before the code's exposure and importance factors bring it to the 21 psf design figure above.

Meade County: average annual snowfall

Meade County sees about 47.5 in. of snow most winters, per the RED OWL, SD US station's 1991-2020 NOAA normal. See the density guide.

Read this before you use Meade 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.)