Montgomery County, AL Roof Snow Load - 5 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Montgomery County, AL?
5 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Montgomery County to carry. ASCE 7's low-slope-roof minimum (§7.3.4) raises the governing figure to 5 psf - higher than the 3.5 psf the ground-load formula alone would give, and the code says use the larger one.
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. This is a modest add-on to standard roof loading - ordinary residential construction carries it without extra bracing.
Montgomery County at a glance
- Design roof snow load5 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map5 psf
- National rank#2,097 of 2,758
- Alabama rank#21 of 67
- Population225,894
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal0.3 in.
- FIPS01101
How Montgomery County compares
5 psf ranks #2,097 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 76%) - and #21 of 67 in Alabama. That's 0.6 psf below Alabama's own county-average design load of 5.6 psf.
Population 225,894 (FIPS 01101), roughly 32.2029°N 86.2045°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 Montgomery County, AL
NOAA's 30-year normal for Montgomery County: 0.3 in. of snow a year, from the MILSTEAD, AL US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Montgomery 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.
Montgomery 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.