Ottawa County, OK Roof Snow Load - 15 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Ottawa County, OK?
15 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Ottawa County to carry. The physics-based figure alone would be 10.5 psf, but ASCE 7's own low-slope minimum (§7.3.4) sets a floor of 15 psf for flat and low-pitch roofs here, which is the number that actually governs.
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.
Ottawa County in numbers
- Design roof snow load15 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map15 psf
- National rank#1,427 of 2,758
- Oklahoma rank#6 of 77
- Population30,404
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal7.2 in.
- FIPS40115
How Ottawa County compares
15 psf ranks #1,427 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 52%) - and #6 of 77 in Oklahoma. 11 psf is Oklahoma's typical county figure - Ottawa County beats it by 4 psf.
Population 30,404 (FIPS 40115), roughly 36.8358°N 94.8027°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 Ottawa County, OK
NOAA's 30-year normal for Ottawa County: 7.2 in. of snow a year, from the COLUMBUS, KS US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Ottawa 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.
Ottawa 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. See the methodology guide.