[Sam Am I]

Oh boy!......When it starts to rain and with that much snow being able to hold a s**t ton of water before it fully saturates, think it'd be a bit worried myself cept I'd have to assume living up there, general wisdom/common sense dictates that most, if not all those builds are aptly snow load rated for those altitudes in that area based generally on the known historical look backs and built for that possible "every 100 yr storm" rule of thumb thing. Thinking though, when it all that starts to melt if it warms too fast, look out, they'll be surfing the Truckee in downtown Reno........

 

[orangputeh]

Oh boy!......When it starts to rain and with that much snow being able to hold a s**t ton of water before it fully saturates, think it'd be a bit worried myself cept I'd have to assume living up there, general wisdom/common sense dictates that most, if not all those builds are aptly snow load rated for those altitudes in that area based generally on the known historical look backs and built for that possible "every 100 yr storm" rule of thumb thing. Thinking though, when it all that starts to melt if it warms too fast, look out, they'll be surfing the Truckee in downtown Reno........

yup. rained all night and flooding has already started.

 

[Ziggy65]

Wow, looks like that roof should have been cleared a couple times already this winter.
If it withstands the rain and or heavy wet snow forecast, it will be remarkable.

 

[orangputeh]

Wow, looks like that roof should have been cleared a couple times already this winter.
If it withstands the rain and or heavy wet snow forecast, it will be remarkable.

the snow load rating there is north of 400 psf
snow weighs anywhere from 5-25 pounds per sq ft. ( depends on moisture content )
solid ice block is about 60 pounds psf

 

[Sam Am I]

So, worst case right now as it sits then and looks like ya'll got around 10' on that roof........25 pfs * 10 ft = 250pfs.

Then worst worst case using solid standing water @ 60psf * 10ft = 600pfs, but that can't necessarily happen because it of course begins to run off somewhere before that.

The biggest question is how much liquid water will our worst case of 25psf example of given snow hold before the column begins to liquefy enough to run off......If you stay say @ somewhere under solid standing water, guessing roughly just above half'ish solid water @ 40psf is 400psf with 10ft

Makes living at lower elevations a bit more to my liking.......Geeesh

{{{Edit}}} If I recall my physics right, the force of the load column should be multiplied by Cosine of the pitch in degrees...

e.g.,
25psf on a 10 degree pitch roof = 25* Cos(10) = 24.62psf.
25psf on a 45 degree pitch roof = 25* Cos(45) = 17.67psf

And of course the perfectly flat roof is 0(zero), so..
25psf on a 0 degree pitch roof = 25* Cos(0) = 25psf

And then perfectly vertical has to be no load..
25psf on a 90 degree pitch roof = 25* Cos(90) = 0psf

 

[Ziggy65]

I am in awe of the huge amounts of snow some west coast areas have been getting this winter. I have been following several You Tube channels over the past few weeks as they deal with the massive snow they have been getting especially at the higher elevations.

This guy owns a snow plowing and removal company and his crews have been removing snow from clients roofs non stop for the past month, often multiple times.
He has mentioned as soon as this pineapple express storm was forecast that people have been blowing his phone up looking to get their roof done. Unfortunately he and most other contractors are already booked solid and they will not be able to get to those roofs for at least 2 weeks.
Amazing amount of work to clear these commercial building roofs, here they are actually clearing huge run off channels for the rain and melt water.

I have seen this guy clean off the roof of his house and garage and decks several times in the past few weeks. He actually keeps a second 2 stage blower (Honda of course) on the second story deck to do the decks and the flat roof of the garage.
I am no building code expert, but I don't think that garage structure would meet current snow load codes, probably why he is so diligent with keeping the snow cleared on his structures. .

 

[orangputeh]

So, worst case right now as it sits then and looks like ya'll got around 10' on that roof........25 pfs * 10 ft = 250pfs.

Then worst worst case using solid standing water @ 60psf * 10ft = 600pfs, but that can't necessarily happen because it of course begins to run off somewhere before that.

The biggest question is how much liquid water will our worst case of 25psf example of given snow hold before the column begins to liquefy enough to run off......If you stay say @ somewhere under solid standing water, guessing roughly just above half'ish solid water @ 40psf is 400psf with 10ft

Makes living at lower elevations a bit more to my liking.......Geeesh

I cut out a 12x12by72 inch section and weighed it foot by foot. ( i am at a lower elevation and only have 7 feet on roof)

1st 15 pounds
2nd 18
3rd 22
4th 18
5th 31
6th estimated at 45-60 since most was ice.

so that is about 150-165 for first 6 feet.

guessing the last 4 feet at 50-60 pounds...looks like 350-400 so you are darn close in your calculations....

 

[Sam Am I]

I cut out a 12x12by72 inch section and weighed it foot by foot. ( i am at a lower elevation and only have 7 feet on roof)

1st 15 pounds
2nd 18
3rd 22
4th 18
5th 31
6th estimated at 45-60 since most was ice.

so that is about 150-165 for first 6 feet.

guessing the last 4 feet at 50-60 pounds...looks like 350-400 so you are darn close in your calculations....

I assumed a perfectly flat roof above, so any pitch and realistically considering the force vectors, it should lessen/help things from that flat roof standpoint as well.....

 

[JJG723]

Spy shot of @orangputeh 😉

 

[orangputeh]

I assumed a perfectly flat roof above, so any pitch and realistically considering the force vectors, it should lessen/help things from that flat roof standpoint as well.....

no flat roofs in Tahoe unless they are businesses. a lot of mobile homes but most have exterior built roof coverings.

 

[Coby7]

Last year's drought...be careful what you ask for. Only two ways to fill those lakes and reservoirs, rain and/or snow.

 

[orangputeh]

up to 3rd place and only 8 inches from 2nd place.

first place is the famous 1952 winter with 811 inches.

 

[RIT333]

The record is almost 70 feet of snow ??? And you live there because ... ???

 

[Sam Am I]

The record is almost 70 feet of snow ??? And you live there because ... ???

 

[orangputeh]

The record is almost 70 feet of snow ??? And you live there because ... ???

I have lived in so many places I can not count and this place is by far the best. You should visit the Lake Tahoe area someday.

Hiking, biking, camping,fishing, lakes,snowshoeing, skiing, sunbathing,walking trails, motorcycling, snow mobileing, boating,

There is sumting for everyone year round. It's IMPOSSIBLE to get bored.

Plus I am a Honda snowblower MANIAC and am in Honda Heaven.......24/7/365 days a year BABIEEEEEEE

Pic is not me. I blow snow nekid

 

[RIT333]

Been there on vacation. We have all of that in the Adirondack Mts, and not as much snow to deal with. Plus, I am about 50 ft from a nice lake with Northern Pike that can easily be 40-50" long. I guess it is whatever you get accustomed to. Quite frankly, it wouldn't bother me to get an additional 5-7 degrees year round thru global warming, but don't tell anyone that I said that.

 

[orangputeh]

Been there on vacation. We have all of that in the Adirondack Mts, and not as much snow to deal with. Plus, I am about 50 ft from a nice lake with Northern Pike that can easily be 40-50" long. I guess it is whatever you get accustomed to. Quite frankly, it wouldn't bother me to get an additional 5-7 degrees year round thru global warming, but don't tell anyone that I said that.

5-7 degrees would be the end of us......they are worried about another 1 degree melting the ice caps.

 

[RIT333]

You don't understand, I just want that temperature increase on my property ! LOL

 

[orangputeh]

back on topic

 

[dr bob]

Old habits to unlearn here. Neighbors regularly ask why I move the snow so far from the road. After having homes in Mammoth Lakes and Incline Village, we are now in a much-less-snow situation. My wife is post that life period, neighbors tend to be transplants from no-snow locations, so have no appreciation for how much snow that is, or the relative dynamics of so many yards of snow. vs. what we get here in the high desert of central Oregon.

My 3BR Incline Village home was a three-year rental in the early-mid 1990's, partial lake view from about six blocks up the hill, and I could have bought it for about $200k then. The rental included contract snow clearing to the main road, and there was a decent but not-running snow blower in the garage when I got there. It was running again before the first snow. Only once was it so bad I couldn't get out and down the hill to my little geothermal power plants projects around the Reno area. There were 20'+ snow stakes along my Mt. Rose highway 'commute', and they would very regularly get buried. Seemed like fun at the time, back when I was single and still bulletproof and immortal. Those qualities have fallen by the wayside over the decades. Living vicariously by the shared pictures is plenty these days. Keep 'em coming!