Wilson County, NC Roof Snow Load - 15 psf
Wilson County, NC roof snow load, translated
A typical heated home in Wilson County is designed to carry 15 pounds per square foot of snow on its roof, per ASCE 7-22. Flat and low-pitch roofs in Wilson County are actually governed by ASCE 7's §7.3.4 minimum of 15 psf, not the 10.5 psf the ground-load formula alone would produce.
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. A meaningful design load. Most homes built to modern code handle it, but additions, carports, and flat-roofed sections are worth a second look.
Wilson County at a glance
- Design roof snow load15 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map15 psf
- National rank#1,353 of 2,758
- North Carolina rank#27 of 100
- Population79,958
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal0.7 in.
- FIPS37195
Where Wilson County ranks
#27 of 100 North Carolina counties by design load, top 49% of 2,758 nationally - that's Wilson County's spot. That's 2.1 psf above North Carolina's own county-average design load of 12.9 psf.
FIPS 37195, population 79,958, centered near 35.7004°N 77.9216°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.
Wilson County: average annual snowfall
Wilson County sees about 0.7 in. of snow most winters, per the ROCKY MT, NC US station's 1991-2020 NOAA normal. See the density guide.
Read this before you use Wilson 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.