SnowLoadCheck

Sterling County, TX Roof Snow Load - 5 psf

What ASCE 7 says about snow load in Sterling County

Light
5 psf

That's Sterling 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 5 psf - higher than the 3.5 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 11 in. of fresh powder, 4 in. once it settles and packs down, or just 1 in. if it's turned to ice. This is a modest add-on to standard roof loading - ordinary residential construction carries it without extra bracing.

Sterling County in numbers

Where Sterling County's figure sits nationally

Out of 2,758 rated US counties, Sterling County sits at #2,462, the top 89% nationally - #199 of 254 within Texas. 5.4 psf is Texas's typical county figure - Sterling County comes in 0.4 psf under it.

Near 31.8358°N 101.0549°W, FIPS 48431: Sterling County counts 1,387 residents and a 5 psf map value, which the code's own factors turn into 5 psf.

How much it actually snows in Sterling County

Most winters bring Sterling County roughly 2.3 in. of snow - NOAA's normal at STERLING CITY 8 NE, TX US, 11.8 mi off. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)

Read this before you rely on it

Sterling 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 Sterling County's county-wide figure. Details: the calculation guide.