Radford city, VA Roof Snow Load - 20 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Radford city, VA?
20 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Radford city to carry. The physics-based figure alone would be 17.5 psf, but ASCE 7's own low-slope minimum (§7.3.4) sets a floor of 20 psf for flat and low-pitch roofs here, which is the number that actually governs.
Picture it, not just weigh it: 44 in. if it's fresh powder, 16 in. once it settles, or a mere 4 in. if it's ice. A meaningful design load. Most homes built to modern code handle it, but additions, carports, and flat-roofed sections are worth a second look.
Radford city at a glance
- Design roof snow load20 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map25 psf
- National rank#987 of 2,758
- Virginia rank#57 of 110
- Population17,273
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal24.7 in.
- FIPS51750
How Radford city compares
20 psf ranks #987 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 36%) - and #57 of 110 in Virginia. That's 1.7 psf above Virginia's own county-average design load of 18.3 psf.
Population 17,273 (FIPS 51750), roughly 37.1201°N 80.5591°W. The 25 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 20 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.
Typical snowfall in Radford city, VA
NOAA's 30-year normal for Radford city: 24.7 in. of snow a year, from the BLACKSBURG NWSO, VA US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Radford city 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.
Radford city'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.)