Wells County, IN Roof Snow Load - 20 psf
What ASCE 7 says about snow load in Wells County
That's Wells 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 20 psf - higher than the 14 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 44 in. of fresh powder, 16 in. once it settles and packs down, or just 4 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.
Wells County in numbers
- Design roof snow load20 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map20 psf
- National rank#873 of 2,758
- Indiana rank#46 of 89
- Population28,798
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal23.3 in.
- FIPS18179
Where Wells County's figure sits nationally
Out of 2,758 rated US counties, Wells County sits at #873, the top 32% nationally - #46 of 89 within Indiana. Indiana counties average 19.3 psf; Wells County runs 0.7 psf higher than that.
Near 40.7355°N 85.2133°W, FIPS 18179: Wells County counts 28,798 residents and a 20 psf map value, which the code's own factors turn into 20 psf.
How much it actually snows in Wells County
Most winters bring Wells County roughly 23.3 in. of snow - NOAA's normal at BLUFFTON 6N, IN US, 6.2 mi off. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
Read this before you rely on it
Wells 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 Wells County's county-wide figure. (How this figure is calculated.)