Pembina County, ND Roof Snow Load - 42 psf

How much snow is too much for a roof in Pembina County, ND?

Picture it, not just weigh it: 92.4 in. if it's fresh powder, 33.6 in. once it settles, or a mere 8.4 in. if it's ice. This is a serious structural load - older homes built before modern snow-load provisions, or ones with low-slope or flat roof sections, are worth having checked.

Pembina County in numbers

• Design roof snow load42 psf
• Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map60 psf
• National rank#75 of 2,758
• North Dakota rank#3 of 49
• Population6,588
• Annual snowfall, NOAA normal47.3 in.
• FIPS38067

How Pembina County compares

42 psf ranks #75 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 3%) - and #3 of 49 in North Dakota. North Dakota counties average 29.4 psf; Pembina County runs 12.6 psf higher than that.

Population 6,588 (FIPS 38067), roughly 48.7669°N 97.5454°W. The 60 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 42 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.

Typical snowfall in Pembina County, ND

NOAA's 30-year normal for Pembina County: 47.3 in. of snow a year, from the LANGDON EXP FARM, ND US station. Worth noting: the nearest station reporting snowfall normals sits 36.4 mi from Pembina County's center, so treat this as a regional figure rather than an exact one. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)

What this Pembina 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.

Pembina 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.)