Washoe County, NV Roof Snow Load - 15 psf
Washoe County, NV roof snow load, translated
A typical heated home in Washoe County is designed to carry 15 pounds per square foot of snow on its roof, per ASCE 7-22. 10.5 psf is what the ground-load formula alone gives; Washoe County's 15 psf low-slope minimum (§7.3.4) beats it, so that figure is the one that governs on flat and low-pitch roofs.
On a roof that means 33 in. of fresh snow, 12 in. once it packs down, or 3 in. of solid ice - three very different piles for the same load. 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.
Washoe County in numbers
- Design roof snow load15 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map15 psf
- National rank#1,312 of 2,758
- Nevada rank#2 of 14
- Population507,280
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal13.3 in.
- FIPS32031
Where Washoe County ranks
#2 of 14 Nevada counties by design load, top 48% of 2,758 nationally - that's Washoe County's spot. 6.8 psf is Nevada's typical county figure - Washoe County beats it by 8.2 psf.
FIPS 32031, population 507,280, centered near 40.7313°N 119.6633°W. ASCE 7's underlying ground snow load here is 15 psf before the code's exposure and importance factors bring it to the 15 psf design figure above.
Washoe County: average annual snowfall
Washoe County sees about 13.3 in. of snow most winters, per the SMOKE CREEK ESPIL, NV US station's 1991-2020 NOAA normal. See the density guide.
Read this before you use Washoe 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.