Sweetwater County, WY Roof Snow Load - 20 psf
Sweetwater County, WY roof snow load, translated
A typical heated home in Sweetwater County is designed to carry 20 pounds per square foot of snow on its roof, per ASCE 7-22. §7.3.4's low-slope minimum of 20 psf is what actually governs on a flat or low-pitch roof here - higher than the 14 psf the base ground-load formula gives.
On a roof that means 44 in. of fresh snow, 16 in. once it packs down, or 4 in. of solid ice - three very different piles for the same load. A meaningful design load. Most homes built to modern code handle it, but additions, carports, and flat-roofed sections are worth a second look.
Sweetwater County, WY: quick facts
- Design roof snow load20 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map20 psf
- National rank#778 of 2,758
- Wyoming rank#3 of 18
- Population41,273
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal54 in.
- FIPS56037
Where Sweetwater County ranks
#3 of 18 Wyoming counties by design load, top 28% of 2,758 nationally - that's Sweetwater County's spot. 17.5 psf is Wyoming's typical county figure - Sweetwater County beats it by 2.5 psf.
FIPS 56037, population 41,273, centered near 41.6603°N 108.8757°W. ASCE 7's underlying ground snow load here is 20 psf before the code's exposure and importance factors bring it to the 20 psf design figure above.
Sweetwater County: average annual snowfall
Sweetwater County sees about 54 in. of snow most winters, per the ROCK SPRINGS AP, WY US station's 1991-2020 NOAA normal. See the density guide.
Read this before you use Sweetwater County's figure
The figure above assumes the case ASCE 7-22 treats as typical: a heated, ordinary-occupancy home on a partially exposed site. Change any of those - exposure, heating, roof pitch, occupancy category - and the real design number moves.
A building permit needs the number at your exact address, not the county average - the free ASCE 7 Hazard Tool returns that from your coordinates in about a minute and produces a PDF a plan reviewer will accept. See the methodology guide.