SnowLoadCheck

Rains County, TX Roof Snow Load - 5 psf

Rains County, TX: your roof's ASCE 7 snow number, in plain English

Light
5 psf

Rains County's roofs are built to hold 5 psf of snow, the ASCE 7-22 figure a permit reviewer checks first. The physics-based figure alone would be 3.5 psf, but ASCE 7's own low-slope minimum (§7.3.4) sets a floor of 5 psf for flat and low-pitch roofs here, which is the number that actually governs.

In depth, not weight: that's roughly 11 inches of fresh, light snow, 4 inches of old, settled snow, or as little as 1 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. This is a modest add-on to standard roof loading - ordinary residential construction carries it without extra bracing.

Rains County at a glance

Rains County by the numbers

Nationally that's #2,353 out of 2,758 rated counties, the top 85%; within Texas alone, Rains County ranks #151 of 254. 5.4 psf is Texas's typical county figure - Rains County comes in 0.4 psf under it.

Rains County, FIPS 48379, is home to 13,306 people near 32.8705°N 95.7956°W. Its 5 psf ground snow load figure is the map value; 5 psf is what a roof is actually designed for.

Rains County's snowfall, most winters

1 in. a year: that's Rains County's NOAA 1991-2020 snowfall normal, measured at COMMERCE 4SW, TX US (24 mi away). See the density guide.

Before you rely on Rains County's number

Treat the Rains 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. Details: the calculation guide.