AVALANCHES OF SNOW
FROM ROOFS OF BUILDINGSl
Jonathan Paine and Lee Bruch 2
Many of the principles learned from studying snow
on mountainous terrain can be applied to snow on roofs of
buildings. This understanding can be used to design
better buildings for snow country.
We human beings are a funny species. We research and understand the complex bodies of know-
expend large amounts of energy, time, and money ledge of snow science.
in finding ways of avoiding the hazards of
avalanches in the natural environment. Then we Snow scientists .could be of great help. They
cluster people in towns in the mountains, some- could produce "rules of thumb" and easy to use
times in the paths of potential avalanches. And summaries of existing knowledge in formats
often we fill the towns with buildings whose usable by building designers; they could adapt
roofs catch large amounts of snow, roofs which existing knowledge to answer the specific needs of
precariously perch the snow high above people's building designers; and where necessary, they could
heads, and which periodically avalanche it into perform new research.
occupied spaces.
This paper is about the principles of the OVERVIEW: BUILDING IN SNOW COUNTRY
design of roofs to avoid problems and hazards in
areas of heavy snowfall. Most importantly for Many of the special considerations of building
this conference, our hope is to encourage and in snow country fall into three categories:
assist a dialogue between the building design
industry and snow scientists. 1. Structural Considerations
Most building designers do little work in Snow can weigh a lot. Because most people
snow country and are oblivious of the pitfalls know that and because the weight of snow involves
involved in dealing with snow. Those designers safety in a very obvious way, there is a relatively
that are aware of the problems are faced with a good amount of literature on the subject and build-
lack of information published in formats that are ing designers tend to address the more obvious
accessible to them and usable by them. Often structural considerations. There are a number of
they must rely purely on intuition. less obvious considerations, including the effect
of drifting; the accumulation of unusually heavy
Building designers are already faced with a weights in roof valleys, behind obstructions, and
complex task in designing a building. They on roofs subject to dumping from roofs above; and
usually can not afford to take the time to the effects of unequal loads. Although these
topics are interesting and need discussion, we will
leave these to be addressed in another paper.
lpaper presented at the International Snow 2. Leaks
Science Workshop, Lake Tahoe, California, October
22-25, 1986. Snow has the nasty habit of accumulating,
sitting around for some time, and gradually melt-
2Jonathan Paine: Structural Engineer and ing. The meltwater is the source of considerable
Consultant on buildings in snow country; headaches. Because designers inexperienced in snow
principal of Snow Country Consultants, Whistler, country often ignore the special considerations
B.C., Canada. that melting snow demands, many buildings in snow
country tend to leak. Although some leaks can be
Lee Bruch: Architect and consultant on traced to faults in materials or workmanship, many
buildings in snow country; with the Urban Design leaks are due to the basic design of the building.
Group, Vancouver, B.C., Canada. As we will point out repeatedly throughout this
paper, some building shapes and designs create
138
situations where it is difficult if not imposs- collapse. Luckily the beams could be heard
ible to avoid future problems. Other shapes, cracking for three hours before the avalanche; no
because of their intrinsic nature, avoid problems one was caught under it.
or make their solution easier.
With proper forethought, snow shedding can be
The problem of leaks in buildings is a designed to be problem free. Indeed, if roofs are
lengthy topic. We will leave it to be addressed designed to shed snow safely into planned areas,
another time. the results can be attractive and exciting to
watch.
3. Movement of Snow
The remainder of this paper deals with the
Another habit of snow is that it accumul- methods and calculations necessary to successfully
ates, undergoes change, and given a chance, moves plan for shedding snow.
and falls. This is the topic of this paper.
The tendency for snow to avalanche from the PRINCIPLES
roofs of buildings is frequently overlooked by
building designers. But the importance of such There are many factors which affect snow on
avalanches should not be overlooked. roofs. These factors are often interrelated in
complex ways. These factors determine whether snow
Snow falling from a height can be extremely will remain relatively static, whether it will
dangerous. If it falls after it has been sitting gradually creep, or whether it will suddenly
on a roof for a number of weeks and has turned to avalanche.
ice, or if it falls from high enough, it can
kill. Even falling from a low roof its impact Building designers do not need to know all of
can seriously injure someone, as a number of the the theory involved; we can leave that to snow
successful lawsuits can testify. scientists. But we do need to simplify some of the
principles and apply them to our field in order to
Snow falling can also do considerable damage predict the action of snow on roofs we are design-
to property. Every year in Whistler several cars ing.
sustain thousands of dollars of damage when hit
by snow falling from roofs. The trajectory of The amount of snow to be expected on a roof
snow shooting from a roof can carry it to an depends upon a number of factors: geographic loc-
adjacent building. If it doesn't destroy an ation, wind exposure, solar exposure, shape of the
unlucky porch or smash through a window, the roof, weather patterns, and amount of heat lost
tremendous sound of the impact will at least from the building. The snow is subject to redis-
unnerve the occupants. Falling snow can also tribution on the roof due to drifting, sliding,
ruin improperly placed landscaping or signage or melting, and refreezing of water.
can easily disconnect improperly placed electric
or phone lines. The predicted snow load is based on the ground
snow load as established by building inspectors and
The forces of snow sliding along the roof of by the building codes. In some instances snow
a building can also do considerable damage. We scientists must be called in to estimate probable
are all familiar with the way glaciers can carve amounts of snow.
into mountains. Similarly, in the valleys where
two roof slopes meet the abrasion of the snow can Once the predicted snow load is known the
cause considerable damage to the roofs. Snow can tendency for movement and its forces can be
also do considerable damage to obstructions in analyzed. First, we will look at snow in a static
its path; it can knock chimneys off and bend or condition, then the dynamics during movement, and
shear off plumbing vents. finally, the resulting trajectory and impact after
it leaves the roof.
At the very least, snow dumping from
improperly designed roofs can create maintenance Snow on Roofs: Static Condition
and snow removal problems.
As in any mass, snow on a sloping roof is
A couple of examples give an indication of affected by a combination of factors.
what can happen.
The Sun Valley newspaper, The Mountain
Express, several years ago carried a picture of a
team of avalanche probers searching through a
large snowslide from the roof of Sun Valley's ice
rink. Luckily they found no victims.
At the conference center in Whistler a snow-
pack about 5 feet deep was held on the roof by
large glu lam beams. The snow sheared right
through the beams. There was an adjacent under- W Weight
ground parking garage. Luckily extra shoring was N Normal force = W cos 0
added to it before the slide so that it wouldn't Q Sliding or shear force W sin 0
139
The forces which resist sliding are: temperature, or from heat loss from the building.
Heat losses from the building depend upon the
T = tension in the snow from the peak or a amount of insulation and the effectiveness of vent-
block of snow which is anchored for some ilation of the roof space. The amount of snow on
reason. the roof can also affect melting: even in cold
climates the insulating effect of deep snow can be
C compression. This would be from snow great enough to enable melting at the roof surface
frozen to the unheated overhang or from with even minimal amounts of heat loss from the
a snow retainer or other obstr~ction. building.
f friction between the snow mass and roof Obstructions. Even a small obstruction can
slope. hold back a wedge of -snow far wider than the
obstruction. The shearing forces can be tremend-
v shear resistance along the sides of the ous. This is particularly important at snow
snow mass from adjacent anchors or from retainers, dormers, and chimneys.
a block of snow which is anchored for
some reason. The shearing force can be calculated per the
following example. (It would be wise to assume the
When the sum of these forces (T + C + f + V) coefficient of friction at zero since rain or melt-
is MOre than Q avalanching does not occur, though water often lubricate the surface.)
a plastic flow of slow movement may occur, often
resulting in snow cantilevering beyond the eaves
of roofs with very low slopes.
The magnitude of the sliding and resisting
forces are affected by several factors:
H
Slope. As the slope increases the sliding
force Q increases. Although not much empirical ..r'SNOW
analysis exists, from casual observation it seems N:.TA1NER..
that the roofs most prone to dangerous avalanch-
ing are between 16° and 60° in slope. Sliding is
not as likely on roofs with less slope. Snow Shearing Force Q
does not tend to accumulate to dangerous depths Snow Load W
on steeper roofs. CAUTION: the above observ- Q = W sin 0
ations also depend on the many other factors
which are listed below. It should be noted that If snow load 100 psf, H = 10', L • 20', and
these dangerous slopes correspond to the most o = 26.6°, W 2000 pounds per linear foot
common roof slopes. Q 895 pounds per linear foot
Roughness. As the coefficient of friction
between the roof and the snow increases, the Snow on Roofs: Dynamic Conditions
force of Q required to cause sliding increases.
Note that the coefficient of friction of the When a mass of snow breaks loose and begins to
roof is the coefficient of friction of its move down a roof slope, it tends to accelerate.
material after it has been modified to account This acceleration is hindered by the friction at
for the effects of the profile of the roofing, the roof surface:
fastenings, and flashings; all of which increase
the effective coefficient of friction. For
example, our casual observations indicate that
sliding does not occur on metal roofs until the
slope is about 14°. [Link] with a
1 a ' • ("0 0 -.... co, 0) I
calculated coefficient of friction of.M.= .25 if where
tension and compression forces are absent. This g acceleration due to gravity
is greater than the coefficient of friction to be -"" = coefficient of friction
expected on smooth, flat metal. Further research
in examining this topic would be valuable. (This assumes no loss of energy due to air
friction or due to internal forces within the
f ':PN ="a W cos 0 snow mass, which is probably safe for the
limited lengths of most roof surfaces).
Temperature. The temperature at the snow/
roof interface drastically affects the ability of As the snow accelerates down the slope it
snow to slide. Snow at cold eaves often bonds or imparts a lateral force to the building. For most
freezes to the surface, decreasing the tendency buildings there are three types of lateral forces
to slide. The water from melting can tend to that govern the structural design: wind, earth-
lubricate the surface, increasing the tendency to quake, and snow-induced forces. In snow country,
slide. for small to medium sized buildings, the snow-
induced forces due to acceleration can be several
Melting can occur because of external times greater than the earthquake induced forces.
sources such as solar radiation or ambient air
140
This horizontal acceleration ah = a cos 0.
After adjusting the acceleration for friction, we
get:
ah g (sin 0 cos 0 -..,.Mcos 2 0) H
Therefore the horizontal or lateral force (Fh)
is:
t = drop time
g acceleration due to gravity
Wg (sin 0 cos 0 - p cos 2 0) Vi impact velocity
Vo original velocity at roof edge
Example: Velocity (v o ):
With no friction loss considered: Vo =1(2glD
With friction loss :J Vo =y2g D (1- ~~ 1
Trajectories:
H = (v o sin 0 + ~) t
2
Snow Load = 100 psf
~(t2) + Vo sin 0 (t) - H = 0
W = 40 k 2
g = 32 ft/sec 2
Solving for t:
the lateral force Fh is:
t = - Vo sin 13 ± Yv~
if~ - 0 Fh 16k
if "tl.( = • 25 Fh 8 k g
Note how a change in the coefficient of friction
drastically changes the lateral load. Also, as t = 1
-
"I v
~ 0
2 sin 2 13 + 2gH' - --,,-0
v sin _ 13
snow begins to falloff of the roof the weight of
remaining snow diminishes, so the lateral load g g
also diminishes.
Solving for the danger zone x:
Snow on Roofs: Trajectories
The trajectory of snow sliding off a roof
defines a danger zone. The building layout and
I x = Vo cos 0 t I
the surrounding site must be designed to keep
people away from these zones. To accomplish this Rearranging:
successfully the designer must be able to calcul-
ate the trajectory.
The trajectory depends on the velocity of
the snow as it leaves the building's eaves. This
will inevitably vary tremendously. Wet snow may Impact Velocity (vi)' The impact velocity can
dribble off and fall straight down. A chunk of now be calculated. Eventually, with the help of
ice speeding down the roof or a sudden release of snow scientists in determining the dissipation of
a large snowpack will approach the theoretical energy upon impact for various snow conditions, and
maximum trajectory. with the impact velocity, we hope to be able to
understand the forces resulting on impact. This is
We will ignore the effects of air friction obviously important to designers when designing
and will asSume the linear acceleration of snow. roofs subject to serious impact from above.
This will ease the calculations, on the size of
most roofs it will not significantly alter the
results, and at worst it gives us a slightly
conservative result.
141
ff = angle of impac t
Example. For a roof with a rise (D) = 10',
a run (R) - 20', coefficient of friction ~) =
.25, g = 32 ft/sec., and a drop of 12':
V
o 17.9 ft/sec
t .65 sec The best solutions are obtained when the basic
x 10.4 feet design of the building accommodates the principles
vi 33 ft/sec (23 miles per hour) of snow. Some building shapes and concepts make
it difficult, if not impossible, to avoid problems.
Of course, instead of going through all the Other shapes, by their intrinsic nature, avoid
above calculations, it is easy for a child to problems or make their solution easier.
determine the maximum trajectory: release a ball
from the top of the slope and observe the impact The snow scientist can play an important role
location. in assisting building designers to produce better
buildings for snow country. We invite your input.
SOLUTIONS
Ideally roofs should be planned so snow REFERENCES
behaves predictably and moves where it will cause
no danger or damage. Snow dump areas for all D.M. Grey and B.R. Male, eds. 1981. Handbook of
parts of the roof, even small parts, should be Snow, Principles, Process & Use. Pergamon
carefully located. Even a piece of a roof only a Press, NY.
foot or two square or a small obstruction can
retain snow that eventually turns to ice and Taylor, D.A. 1985. "Sliding Snow on Sloping
which can become a deadly projectile. If dormers Roofs," Canadian Building Digest, National
·or intersecting roofs are used, the designer Research Council of Canada.
should understand that snow can easily hang up in
the valleys and turn to ice, even on extremely
steep roofs.
The basic building form should be designed
to shed snow away from people or should be flat
to avoid the problem.
Snow retainers can be used on roofs to
prevent snow slides, but they are best used only
wiTh CClu+i 01'). If they are used, i t should be
only on low slopes; if the roof is very steeply
pitched, a snowpack could shear off over the top
of the retainer.
Other possible strategies include the use of
heat cables to melt the snow (very expensive and
troublesome; not recommended) or the use of lower
or flat roofs to deflect or catch falling snow.
A strategy we used at Pika's, Whistler
Mountain's mountaintop restaurant, involved using
wind stripping to help control snow accumulation.
We oriented the building in relation to consist-
ent storm winds and bent the roof into two slopes
to conform to the wind flow and to manage the
snow that did accumulate.
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