SnowLoadCheck

Steele County, ND Roof Snow Load - 35 psf

What ASCE 7 says about snow load in Steele County

Heavy
35 psf

That's Steele 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 77 in. of fresh powder, 28 in. once it settles and packs down, or just 7 in. if it's turned to ice. A load this size is a serious structural matter; pre-modern-code homes and low-slope or flat-roofed sections are the ones most worth an inspection.

Steele County, ND: quick facts

Where Steele County's figure sits nationally

Out of 2,758 rated US counties, Steele County sits at #216, the top 8% nationally - #16 of 49 within North Dakota. North Dakota counties average 29.4 psf; Steele County runs 5.6 psf higher than that.

Near 47.4511°N 97.7189°W, FIPS 38091: Steele County counts 1,767 residents and a 50 psf map value, which the code's own factors turn into 35 psf.

How much it actually snows in Steele County

Most winters bring Steele County roughly 34.7 in. of snow - NOAA's normal at COLGATE, ND US, 14.7 mi off. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)

Read this before you rely on it

Steele 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 Steele County's county-wide figure. (How this figure is calculated.)