Understanding the (Literal) Weight of a Snow Storm

2/25/2022 (Permalink)

You’ve heard about -- or maybe even experienced -- a roof collapsing because of snow accumulation. However, many people struggle to envision just how much (or little) snow it takes for this to happen. 

Your SERVPRO team has sourced some snow statistics that should help you evaluate just how much your home’s roof can take before the snow accumulations become too much for the structure to support. 

Snow Stats

According to FEMA, roof collapses caused by snow build up depend on specific details about the roof like the construction, maintenance, shape, slope, and wind exposure, along with the kind of snow.  

Compare these weights in pounds per square foot, compiled by FEMA:

• New, powdery snow: 3 
• Heavy, wet snow: 21
• Ice: 57

In order to estimate the weight of the snow and/or ice on your roof, you might consider a roof snow load calculator, or you could defer to USA Today, which investigated How much snow is too much snow on your roof? 

The article reports that the average roof can handle approximately 20 pounds per square foot of snow. 

Good to know, considering that “Old snow and new snow combined can easily exceed load capacity. Just two feet of each could collapse a roof. And don't forget to add ice to the equation. An inch of ice is equal to the weight of a foot of fresh snow.”

Don’t let the next snow storm become a weighty issue relative to your roof. However, if you find yourself in need of storm damage remediation, contact SERVPRO of Stoneham / Wakefield.