Polk County, WI Roof Snow Load - 35 psf
What ASCE 7 says about snow load in Polk County
That's Polk 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. A serious structural load. Homes built before modern snow-load provisions, or with low-slope/flat roof sections, are the ones most worth having checked.
Snow on Polk County's roofs right now?
Polk County in numbers
- Design roof snow load35 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map50 psf
- National rank#125 of 2,758
- Wisconsin rank#25 of 72
- Population45,831
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal61.2 in.
- FIPS55095
Where Polk County's figure sits nationally
Out of 2,758 rated US counties, Polk County sits at #125, the top 5% nationally - #25 of 72 within Wisconsin. Wisconsin counties average 30.9 psf; Polk County runs 4.1 psf higher than that.
Near 45.462°N 92.4471°W, FIPS 55095: Polk County counts 45,831 residents and a 50 psf map value, which the code's own factors turn into 35 psf.
How much it actually snows in Polk County
Most winters bring Polk County roughly 61.2 in. of snow - NOAA's normal at LUCK, WI US, 7.9 mi off. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
Read this before you rely on it
Polk 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 Polk County's county-wide figure. Details: the calculation guide.