Snow Drawings

Design of structures considering snow load
The design of all structures and buildings use the ground snow load to some extent by professional engineers and designers. In North America, the northern states will be designed to accommodate the live load design contributed by the ground snow load in a pounds per square foot (PSF) loading analysis. (Snow loads are typically treated as 'dead loads' within the ASCE 7-latest edition.) This load is typically the governing design factor on roofs and structural elements exposed to the effects of snow. Closer to the Equator, the snow load becomes less of a factor and snow may or may not be the governing factor. Ground snow in North America is provided by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE7-latest edition) for most jurisdictions.