Sioux County, IA Roof Snow Load - 24.5 psf
What ASCE 7 says about snow load in Sioux County
That's Sioux County's design roof snow load per ASCE 7-22, for a typical heated single-family home - the number a permit reviewer starts from.
Converted to something you can actually eyeball on a roof: about 53.9 in. of fresh powder, 19.6 in. once it settles and packs down, or just 4.9 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.
Sioux County in numbers
- Design roof snow load24.5 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map35 psf
- National rank#330 of 2,758
- Iowa rank#11 of 99
- Population36,554
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal34.8 in.
- FIPS19167
Where Sioux County's figure sits nationally
Out of 2,758 rated US counties, Sioux County sits at #330, the top 12% nationally - #11 of 99 within Iowa. 21.7 psf is Iowa's typical county figure - Sioux County beats it by 2.8 psf.
Near 43.0826°N 96.178°W, FIPS 19167: Sioux County counts 36,554 residents and a 35 psf map value, which the code's own factors turn into 24.5 psf.
How much it actually snows in Sioux County
Most winters bring Sioux County roughly 34.8 in. of snow - NOAA's normal at SIOUX CTR 2 SE, IA US, 2.3 mi off. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
Read this before you rely on it
Sioux 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 Sioux County's county-wide figure. (How this figure is calculated.)