SnowLoadCheck

Ward County, TX Roof Snow Load - 5 psf

How much snow is too much for a roof in Ward County, TX?

Light
5 psf

5 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Ward County to carry. 3.5 psf is what the ground-load formula alone gives; Ward County's 5 psf low-slope minimum (§7.3.4) beats it, so that figure is the one that governs on flat and low-pitch roofs.

Picture it, not just weigh it: 11 in. if it's fresh powder, 4 in. once it settles, or a mere 1 in. if it's ice. A modest addition to standard roof loading. Ordinary residential construction handles this without extra bracing.

Got real snow on a Ward County roof right now?

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Ward County at a glance

How Ward County compares

5 psf ranks #2,375 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 86%) - and #159 of 254 in Texas. 5.4 psf is Texas's typical county figure - Ward County comes in 0.4 psf under it.

Population 11,038 (FIPS 48475), roughly 31.5131°N 103.1051°W. The 5 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 5 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.

Typical snowfall in Ward County, TX

NOAA's 30-year normal for Ward County: 1.9 in. of snow a year, from the JAL, NM US station. Worth noting: the nearest station reporting snowfall normals sits 41.5 mi from Ward County's center, so treat this as a regional figure rather than an exact one. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)

What this Ward County figure assumes

This is a county-level reference figure for a typical heated home built to Risk Category II (ordinary residential), on a partially exposed lot - the assumptions ASCE 7-22 itself treats as the default case. A steeper roof, a fully exposed hilltop lot, an unheated structure, or a higher risk category all change the actual number.

Ward County's permit office wants an address-specific figure, not this county average - the ASCE 7 Hazard Tool is free, takes under a minute, and outputs a PDF most reviewers accept. Details: the calculation guide.