Mecklenburg County, NC Roof Snow Load - 10 psf
What ASCE 7 says about snow load in Mecklenburg County
That's Mecklenburg County's design roof snow load per ASCE 7-22, for a typical heated single-family home - the number a permit reviewer starts from. ASCE 7's low-slope-roof minimum (§7.3.4) raises the governing figure to 10 psf - higher than the 7 psf the ground-load formula alone would give, and the code says use the larger one.
Converted to something you can actually eyeball on a roof: about 22 in. of fresh powder, 8 in. once it settles and packs down, or just 2 in. if it's turned to ice. A modest addition to standard roof loading. Ordinary residential construction handles this without extra bracing.
Mecklenburg County in numbers
- Design roof snow load10 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map10 psf
- National rank#1,647 of 2,758
- North Carolina rank#51 of 100
- Population1,206,285
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal1.2 in.
- FIPS37119
Where Mecklenburg County's figure sits nationally
Out of 2,758 rated US counties, Mecklenburg County sits at #1,647, the top 60% nationally - #51 of 100 within North Carolina. 12.9 psf is North Carolina's typical county figure - Mecklenburg County comes in 2.9 psf under it.
Near 35.2469°N 80.8338°W, FIPS 37119: Mecklenburg County counts 1,206,285 residents and a 10 psf map value, which the code's own factors turn into 10 psf.
How much it actually snows in Mecklenburg County
Most winters bring Mecklenburg County roughly 1.2 in. of snow - NOAA's normal at GASTONIA, NC US, 17.5 mi off. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
Read this before you rely on it
Mecklenburg 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 Mecklenburg County's county-wide figure. See the methodology guide.