Muhlenberg County, KY Roof Snow Load - 15 psf
Muhlenberg County, KY roof snow load, translated
A typical heated home in Muhlenberg County is designed to carry 15 pounds per square foot of snow on its roof, per ASCE 7-22. §7.3.4's low-slope minimum of 15 psf is what actually governs on a flat or low-pitch roof here - higher than the 10.5 psf the base ground-load formula gives.
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. Modern-code homes carry a load like this without issue; an older addition, a carport, or any flat-roofed section is where it is worth checking first.
Muhlenberg County in numbers
- Design roof snow load15 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map15 psf
- National rank#1,424 of 2,758
- Kentucky rank#43 of 120
- Population30,512
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal4.4 in.
- FIPS21177
Where Muhlenberg County ranks
#43 of 120 Kentucky counties by design load, top 52% of 2,758 nationally - that's Muhlenberg County's spot. Kentucky counties average 15.7 psf; Muhlenberg County runs 0.7 psf lower than that.
FIPS 21177, population 30,512, centered near 37.2138°N 87.1341°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.
Muhlenberg County: average annual snowfall
Muhlenberg County sees about 4.4 in. of snow most winters, per the ROCHESTER FERRY, KY US station's 1991-2020 NOAA normal. See the density guide.
Read this before you use Muhlenberg 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. See the methodology guide.