Ripley County, IN Roof Snow Load - 20 psf
What ASCE 7 says about snow load in Ripley County
That's Ripley County's design roof snow load per ASCE 7-22, for a typical heated single-family home - the number a permit reviewer starts from. The physics-based figure alone would be 14 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.
Converted to something you can actually eyeball on a roof: about 44 in. of fresh powder, 16 in. once it settles and packs down, or just 4 in. if it's turned to ice. Modern-code homes carry a load like this without issue; an older addition, a carport, or any flat-roofed section is where it is worth checking first.
Already snow on the roof in Ripley County?
Ripley County in numbers
- Design roof snow load20 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map20 psf
- National rank#866 of 2,758
- Indiana rank#45 of 89
- Population29,214
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal15.9 in.
- FIPS18137
Where Ripley County's figure sits nationally
Out of 2,758 rated US counties, Ripley County sits at #866, the top 31% nationally - #45 of 89 within Indiana. That's 0.7 psf above Indiana's own county-average design load of 19.3 psf.
Near 39.1002°N 85.2605°W, FIPS 18137: Ripley County counts 29,214 residents and a 20 psf map value, which the code's own factors turn into 20 psf.
How much it actually snows in Ripley County
Most winters bring Ripley County roughly 15.9 in. of snow - NOAA's normal at FARMERS RETREAT, IN US, 12.1 mi off. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
Read this before you rely on it
Ripley County'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 Ripley County's county-wide figure. (How this figure is calculated.)