Ground Snow Loads for Structural Design

Abstract

Snow loads for structural design are calculated as the product of the ground snow load and a snow load coefficient that transforms the ground load to a roof load. This paper presents a statistical analysis of annual extreme water‐equivalents (reported as inches of water) of ground snow measured at 76 weather stations in the northeast quadrant of the United States through the winter of 1979–1980. The analysis suggests that the lognormal distribution is preferable to a Type I distribution of extreme values for describing annual extreme ground snow loads at a majority of sites. Sampling errors and the selection of design loads from the statistical analysis are also described.