Snow Weight Per Cubic Foot

2015 has brought 'tons' of tape snow onto the roofs of buildings all across New England. The weight load of the accumulated snowfall on a roof is phenomenal, and unsafe.

Today I had the pleasance (sarcasm) of shoveling most of the snowfall off the roof of my 5th-wheel trailer. I should take shoveled information technology sooner, but it being parked not and so close to the business firm I wasn't paying information technology much attention – until yesterday's snowfall – when I suddenly realized the predicament and hoped that this wasn't the 'straw' that's going to 'break its back' (or roof!).

I simply calculated how many pounds of snow was probably sitting there…

With the trailer slides in, the roof dimensions are 36 feet by viii anxiety (288 foursquare feet). I estimated that almost ii.5 anxiety of snow was on the roof. That amounts to 720 cubic feet of snow. Lite fluffy snow weighs nigh 7 pounds per cubic foot, while heavy wet snow can counterbalance up to 20 pounds. I'll approximate seven pounds per square foot in my case. So the total weight upwardly there was about 5000 pounds! or 2.5 tons of snow on the roof! Yikes…

I am very thankful that the roof held up. What may have saved it was the fact that the roof isn't apartment, but bowed – which would have been sending some of that weight load down the side frame (compared to a apartment roof).

Roofs have been collapsing all around New England this wintertime, merely if you accept a camping trailer – be peculiarly aware of the trailer roof because they are not nearly every bit strong as the roof on your dwelling house! Once the roof collapses, your SOL and your camper will be ruined. Don't allow it happen ;)

And the snow keeps coming…

The longer y'all let the snow accumulate on the roof (storm afterward tempest), the more meaty it will go – and the heavier information technology will become (dumbo – especially near the bottom). I had to get out the lesser 4 to 6 inches alone equally information technology was a mixture of ice and snowfall.

'Yours truly' shoveling in below-zip air current arctic today. Cheers to Mrs.J for capturing the images from the warm cozy kitchen window.

As an aside, whenever I'm away from the house out on the property, I ever accept a portable GMRS 2-style radio for comms back to the firm. A word of caution: if information technology falls into the snowfall, especially if you don't realize yous did it, have fun finding it… I had to go back to the firm and get another radio and talk into it while walking effectually and re-tracing my steps. I finally found it as my vocalisation emanated from deep within a particular snow migrate ;)