SnowLoadCheck

Stafford County, VA Roof Snow Load - 20 psf

What ASCE 7 says about snow load in Stafford County

Moderate
20 psf

That's Stafford County's design roof snow load per ASCE 7-22, for a typical heated single-family home - the number a permit reviewer starts from. ASCE 7's low-slope-roof minimum (§7.3.4) raises the governing figure to 20 psf - higher than the 17.5 psf the ground-load formula alone would give, and the code says use the larger one.

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 Stafford County?

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Stafford County in numbers

Where Stafford County's figure sits nationally

Out of 2,758 rated US counties, Stafford County sits at #607, the top 22% nationally - #18 of 110 within Virginia. 18.3 psf is Virginia's typical county figure - Stafford County beats it by 1.7 psf.

Near 38.4231°N 77.458°W, FIPS 51179: Stafford County counts 168,919 residents and a 25 psf map value, which the code's own factors turn into 20 psf.

How much it actually snows in Stafford County

Most winters bring Stafford County roughly 11.3 in. of snow - NOAA's normal at FREDERICKSBURG SEWAGE, VA US, 9.4 mi off. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)

Read this before you rely on it

Stafford 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 Stafford County's county-wide figure. See the methodology guide.