Rhea County, TN Roof Snow Load - 10 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Rhea County, TN?
10 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Rhea County to carry. 7 psf is what the ground-load formula alone gives; Rhea County's 10 psf low-slope minimum (§7.3.4) beats it, so that figure is the one that governs on flat and low-pitch roofs.
Picture it, not just weigh it: 22 in. if it's fresh powder, 8 in. once it settles, or a mere 2 in. if it's ice. This is a modest add-on to standard roof loading - ordinary residential construction carries it without extra bracing.
Rhea County in numbers
- Design roof snow load10 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map10 psf
- National rank#1,819 of 2,758
- Tennessee rank#47 of 95
- Population34,759
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal1.3 in.
- FIPS47143
How Rhea County compares
10 psf ranks #1,819 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 66%) - and #47 of 95 in Tennessee. Tennessee counties average 10.3 psf; Rhea County runs 0.3 psf lower than that.
Population 34,759 (FIPS 47143), roughly 35.6006°N 84.9495°W. The 10 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 10 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.
Typical snowfall in Rhea County, TN
NOAA's 30-year normal for Rhea County: 1.3 in. of snow a year, from the SPRING CITY, TN US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Rhea County 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.
Rhea County'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. Details: the calculation guide.