Winston County, MS Roof Snow Load - 5 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Winston County, MS?
5 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Winston County to carry. The physics-based figure alone would be 3.5 psf, but ASCE 7's own low-slope minimum (§7.3.4) sets a floor of 5 psf for flat and low-pitch roofs here, which is the number that actually governs.
Picture it, not just weigh it: 11 in. if it's fresh powder, 4 in. once it settles, or a mere 1 in. if it's ice. This is a modest add-on to standard roof loading - ordinary residential construction carries it without extra bracing.
Winston County at a glance
- Design roof snow load5 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map5 psf
- National rank#2,321 of 2,758
- Mississippi rank#57 of 82
- Population17,418
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal0.7 in.
- FIPS28159
How Winston County compares
5 psf ranks #2,321 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 84%) - and #57 of 82 in Mississippi. Mississippi counties average 6.5 psf; Winston County runs 1.5 psf lower than that.
Population 17,418 (FIPS 28159), roughly 33.0787°N 89.0374°W. The 5 psf ground snow load ASCE 7-22 maps here becomes 5 psf once the code's own design factors are applied.
Typical snowfall in Winston County, MS
NOAA's 30-year normal for Winston County: 0.7 in. of snow a year, from the ACKERMAN, MS US station. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Winston 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.
Winston 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. Details: the calculation guide.