Prairie County, AR Roof Snow Load - 10 psf
Prairie County, AR: your roof's ASCE 7 snow number, in plain English
Prairie County's roofs are built to hold 10 psf of snow, the ASCE 7-22 figure a permit reviewer checks first. Flat and low-pitch roofs in Prairie County are actually governed by ASCE 7's §7.3.4 minimum of 10 psf, not the 7 psf the ground-load formula alone would produce.
In depth, not weight: that's roughly 22 inches of fresh, light snow, 8 inches of old, settled snow, or as little as 2 inches of solid ice - snow that heavy is rare here but ice from a freeze-thaw cycle adds up far faster than the depth suggests. Standard residential construction handles a load this size without extra bracing; it is a modest addition on top of ordinary roof loading.
Prairie County at a glance
- Design roof snow load10 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map10 psf
- National rank#2,021 of 2,758
- Arkansas rank#63 of 75
- Population7,935
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal2.3 in.
- FIPS05117
Prairie County by the numbers
Nationally that's #2,021 out of 2,758 rated counties, the top 73%; within Arkansas alone, Prairie County ranks #63 of 75. Arkansas counties average 10.1 psf; Prairie County runs 0.1 psf lower than that.
Prairie County, FIPS 05117, is home to 7,935 people near 34.8311°N 91.5536°W. Its 10 psf ground snow load figure is the map value; 10 psf is what a roof is actually designed for.
Prairie County's snowfall, most winters
2.3 in. a year: that's Prairie County's NOAA 1991-2020 snowfall normal, measured at DES ARC, AR US (10.6 mi away). See the density guide.
Before you rely on Prairie County's number
Treat the Prairie County figure as a starting point, not a final answer: it assumes standard occupancy, a heated structure and a moderately sheltered site, per ASCE 7-22's own defaults. Exposed terrain, an unheated building or a steeper roof all shift the real number.
For a real application, skip the county number and go straight to the ASCE 7 Hazard Tool - enter your coordinates and it returns a site-specific figure a plan reviewer will recognize. See the methodology guide.