Westmoreland County, VA Roof Snow Load - 20 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Westmoreland County, VA?
20 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Westmoreland County to carry. Flat and low-pitch roofs in Westmoreland County are actually governed by ASCE 7's §7.3.4 minimum of 20 psf, not the 14 psf the ground-load formula alone would produce.
Picture it, not just weigh it: 44 in. if it's fresh powder, 16 in. once it settles, or a mere 4 in. if it's ice. This is a meaningful design load - most modern-code homes handle it fine, though an addition, a carport or a flat-roofed section can be a weak spot.
Westmoreland County at a glance
- Design roof snow load20 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map20 psf
- National rank#969 of 2,758
- Virginia rank#53 of 110
- Population19,235
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal11.5 in.
- FIPS51193
How Westmoreland County compares
20 psf ranks #969 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 35%) - and #53 of 110 in Virginia. 18.3 psf is Virginia's typical county figure - Westmoreland County beats it by 1.7 psf.
Population 19,235 (FIPS 51193), roughly 38.1093°N 76.8039°W. The 20 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 20 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.
Typical snowfall in Westmoreland County, VA
NOAA's 30-year normal for Westmoreland County: 11.5 in. of snow a year, from the CORBIN, VA US station. Worth noting: the nearest station reporting snowfall normals sits 31.7 mi from Westmoreland County's center, so treat this as a regional figure rather than an exact one. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Westmoreland 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.
Westmoreland 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. (How this figure is calculated.)