Pierce County, WI Roof Snow Load - 35 psf
What ASCE 7 says about snow load in Pierce County
That's Pierce County's design roof snow load per ASCE 7-22, for a typical heated single-family home - the number a permit reviewer starts from.
Converted to something you can actually eyeball on a roof: about 77 in. of fresh powder, 28 in. once it settles and packs down, or just 7 in. if it's turned to 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.
Pierce County at a glance
- Design roof snow load35 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map50 psf
- National rank#128 of 2,758
- Wisconsin rank#26 of 72
- Population43,380
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal44.1 in.
- FIPS55093
Where Pierce County's figure sits nationally
Out of 2,758 rated US counties, Pierce County sits at #128, the top 5% nationally - #26 of 72 within Wisconsin. 30.9 psf is Wisconsin's typical county figure - Pierce County beats it by 4.1 psf.
Near 44.7253°N 92.4263°W, FIPS 55093: Pierce County counts 43,380 residents and a 50 psf map value, which the code's own factors turn into 35 psf.
How much it actually snows in Pierce County
Most winters bring Pierce County roughly 44.1 in. of snow - NOAA's normal at RED WING, MN US, 11.8 mi off. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
Read this before you rely on it
Pierce County's number above is ASCE 7-22's default case, not a custom calculation: ordinary residential occupancy, heated, sited on ground that's neither fully sheltered nor fully exposed. Any one of those changing - pitch, exposure, heating, occupancy - moves the real figure.
Nothing here substitutes for an address-level number. Get one free, in about a minute, from the ASCE 7 Hazard Tool using your own coordinates rather than Pierce County's county-wide figure. (How this figure is calculated.)