SnowLoadCheck

Williamsburg County, SC Roof Snow Load - 10 psf

How much snow is too much for a roof in Williamsburg County, SC?

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10 psf

10 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Williamsburg County to carry. ASCE 7's low-slope-roof minimum (§7.3.4) raises the governing figure to 10 psf - higher than the 7 psf the ground-load formula alone would give, and the code says use the larger one.

Picture it, not just weigh it: 22 in. if it's fresh powder, 8 in. once it settles, or a mere 2 in. if it's ice. Standard residential construction handles a load this size without extra bracing; it is a modest addition on top of ordinary roof loading.

Williamsburg County at a glance

How Williamsburg County compares

10 psf ranks #1,841 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 67%) - and #24 of 46 in South Carolina. 8.8 psf is South Carolina's typical county figure - Williamsburg County beats it by 1.2 psf.

Population 29,865 (FIPS 45089), roughly 33.6265°N 79.7165°W. The 10 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 10 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.

Typical snowfall in Williamsburg County, SC

NOAA's 30-year normal for Williamsburg County: 1.6 in. of snow a year, from the CADES 4 W, SC US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)

What this Williamsburg 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.

Williamsburg 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.)