Tallapoosa County, AL Roof Snow Load - 5 psf
Tallapoosa County, AL: your roof's ASCE 7 snow number, in plain English
Tallapoosa County's roofs are built to hold 5 psf of snow, the ASCE 7-22 figure a permit reviewer checks first. 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.
In depth, not weight: that's roughly 11 inches of fresh, light snow, 4 inches of old, settled snow, or as little as 1 inches of solid ice - snow that heavy is rare here but ice from a freeze-thaw cycle adds up far faster than the depth suggests. A modest addition to standard roof loading. Ordinary residential construction handles this without extra bracing.
Tallapoosa County at a glance
- Design roof snow load5 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map5 psf
- National rank#2,208 of 2,758
- Alabama rank#31 of 67
- Population40,699
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal0.7 in.
- FIPS01123
Tallapoosa County by the numbers
Nationally that's #2,208 out of 2,758 rated counties, the top 80%; within Alabama alone, Tallapoosa County ranks #31 of 67. Alabama counties average 5.6 psf; Tallapoosa County runs 0.6 psf lower than that.
Tallapoosa County, FIPS 01123, is home to 40,699 people near 32.8633°N 85.7996°W. Its 5 psf ground snow load figure is the map value; 5 psf is what a roof is actually designed for.
Tallapoosa County's snowfall, most winters
0.7 in. a year: that's Tallapoosa County's NOAA 1991-2020 snowfall normal, measured at ALEXANDER CITY, AL US (10.3 mi away). See the density guide.
Before you rely on Tallapoosa County's number
Treat the Tallapoosa County figure as a starting point, not a final answer: it assumes standard occupancy, a heated structure and a moderately sheltered site, per ASCE 7-22's own defaults. Exposed terrain, an unheated building or a steeper roof all shift the real number.
For a real application, skip the county number and go straight to the ASCE 7 Hazard Tool - enter your coordinates and it returns a site-specific figure a plan reviewer will recognize. See the methodology guide.