Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area Snow Load: Case Study Area
Why doesn't Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area have a snow load number?
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area sits in the mountain-west terrain where ASCE 7-22 §7.2 itself declines to give a contour figure - elevation changes too fast over short distances there for one number per county to mean anything. The code requires a site-specific study for a building here, not a look-up.
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, FIPS 02198, is home to 5,746 people - one of 386 US counties ASCE 7 itself routes around a map figure for.
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area at a glance
- Population5,746
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal56 in.
- FIPS02198
How much it actually snows in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area
Most winters bring Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area roughly 56 in. of snow - NOAA's normal at PORT ALEXANDER, AK US, 69.3 mi off. Worth noting: the nearest station reporting snowfall normals sits 69.3 mi from Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area's center, so treat this as a regional figure rather than an exact one. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
Read this before you rely on it
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area'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 Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area's county-wide figure. See the methodology guide.