SnowLoadCheck

Surry County, VA Roof Snow Load - 15 psf

What ASCE 7 says about snow load in Surry County

Moderate
15 psf

That's Surry 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 15 psf - higher than the 10.5 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 33 in. of fresh powder, 12 in. once it settles and packs down, or just 3 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.

Surry County, VA: quick facts

Where Surry County's figure sits nationally

Out of 2,758 rated US counties, Surry County sits at #1,590, the top 58% nationally - #99 of 110 within Virginia. Virginia counties average 18.3 psf; Surry County runs 3.3 psf lower than that.

Near 37.1198°N 76.8802°W, FIPS 51181: Surry County counts 6,579 residents and a 15 psf map value, which the code's own factors turn into 15 psf.

How much it actually snows in Surry County

Most winters bring Surry County roughly 6.4 in. of snow - NOAA's normal at WAKEFIELD 1NW, VA US, 11.7 mi off. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)

Read this before you rely on it

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