Nowata County, OK Roof Snow Load - 15 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Nowata County, OK?
15 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Nowata County to carry. 10.5 psf is what the ground-load formula alone gives; Nowata County's 15 psf low-slope minimum (§7.3.4) beats it, so that figure is the one that governs on flat and low-pitch roofs.
Picture it, not just weigh it: 33 in. if it's fresh powder, 12 in. once it settles, or a mere 3 in. if it's ice. A meaningful design load. Most homes built to modern code handle it, but additions, carports, and flat-roofed sections are worth a second look.
Nowata County in numbers
- Design roof snow load15 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map15 psf
- National rank#1,556 of 2,758
- Oklahoma rank#11 of 77
- Population9,561
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal9.3 in.
- FIPS40105
How Nowata County compares
15 psf ranks #1,556 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 56%) - and #11 of 77 in Oklahoma. That's 4 psf above Oklahoma's own county-average design load of 11 psf.
Population 9,561 (FIPS 40105), roughly 36.7896°N 95.6133°W. The 15 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 15 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.
Typical snowfall in Nowata County, OK
NOAA's 30-year normal for Nowata County: 9.3 in. of snow a year, from the WANN, OK US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Nowata 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.
Nowata 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. (How this figure is calculated.)