2006 International Building Code

SECTION 1608 SNOW LOADS

1608.1 General. Design snow loads shall be determined in accordance with Chapter 7 of ASCE 7, but the design roof load shall not be less than that determined by Section 1607.

1608.2 Ground snow loads. The ground snow loads to be used in determining the design snow loads for roofs shall be determined in accordance with ASCE 7 or Figure 1608.2 for the contiguous United States and Table 1608.2 for Alaska. Site-specific case studies shall be made in areas designated “CS” in Figure 1608.2. Ground snow loads for sites at elevations above the limits indicated in Figure 1608.2 and for all sites within the CS areas shall be approved. Ground snow load determination for such sites shall be based on an extreme value statistical analysis of data available in the vicinity of the site using a value with a 2-percent annual probability of being exceeded (50-year mean recurrence interval). Snow loads are zero for Hawaii, except in mountainous regions as approved by the building official.

All Rights Reserved. This 2006 International Building Code® is a copyrighted work owned by the International Code Council, Inc. Without advance written permission from the copyright owner, no part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including, without limitation, electronic, optical or mechanical means (by way of example and not limitation, photocopying, or recording by or in an information storage retrieval system). For information on permission to copy material exceeding fair use, please contact: Publications, 4051West Flossmoor Road, Country Club Hills, IL 60478-5795. Phone 1-888-ICC-SAFE (422-7233). Trademarks: “International Code Council,” the “International Code Council” logo and the “International Building Code” are trademarks of the International Code Council, Inc.