Yoakum County, TX Roof Snow Load - 5 psf
How much snow is too much for a roof in Yoakum County, TX?
5 psf: that's what ASCE 7-22 requires a typical heated home's roof in Yoakum County to carry. §7.3.4's low-slope minimum of 5 psf is what actually governs on a flat or low-pitch roof here - higher than the 3.5 psf the base ground-load formula gives.
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.
Yoakum County at a glance
- Design roof snow load5 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map5 psf
- National rank#2,412 of 2,758
- Texas rank#173 of 254
- Population7,581
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal7.9 in.
- FIPS48501
How Yoakum County compares
5 psf ranks #2,412 of 2,758 US counties with a mapped snow load (top 87%) - and #173 of 254 in Texas. Texas counties average 5.4 psf; Yoakum County runs 0.4 psf lower than that.
Population 7,581 (FIPS 48501), roughly 33.1623°N 102.8322°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 Yoakum County, TX
NOAA's 30-year normal for Yoakum County: 7.9 in. of snow a year, from the CAPROCK, NM US station. That station is far enough away (50.5 mi) that local snowfall - especially at a different elevation or near a lake - can run noticeably higher or lower than this figure. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
What this Yoakum 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.
Yoakum 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.)