ATC Ground Snow Load Website Now Available

NEWS RELEASE
September 15, 2015

For more information, contact
ATC at (650) 595-1542 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Applied Technology Council (ATC), with assistance from Metal Building Manufacturers Association (MBMA), has developed a website that provides a way for users to easily obtain an ASCE 7 site-specific ground snow load. A site can be selected by directly entering the GPS coordinates or the mailing address into the input window of the website. If needed, a map of the United States can be used to find the GPS coordinates of a particular site.

This website overcomes the challenges in using the snow load map that is printed in ASCE 7, Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures. These challenges include insufficient spatial resolution of the map to determine some site-specific ground snow loads and the lack of reference cities or towns on the map.

On the ATC Ground Snow Loads website, users can obtain loads from the ground snow load map printed in ASCE 7-95 through ASCE 7-10 (1995, 1998, 2002, 2005, and 2010). Ground snow load is used with the equations provided in ASCE 7 to determine design snow loads for buildings and other structures.

The ground snow load site is now available for use free of charge at snowload.atcouncil.org. The site also provides a link to the windspeed website where ASCE 7 site-specific wind speeds can be obtained. Users are encouraged to provide ATC with feedback so that enhancements can be planned.

The Applied Technology Council (ATC) is a nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation established in 1973 through the efforts of the Structural Engineers Association of California. ATC's mission is to develop and promote state-of-the-art, user-friendly engineering resources and applications for use in mitigating the effects of natural and other hazards on the built environment. ATC also identifies and encourages needed research and develops consensus opinions on structural engineering issues in a nonproprietary format. ATC thereby fulfills a unique role in funded information transfer. The ATC website and online bookstore is located at www.ATCouncil.org. For more information about the ATC Ground Snow Load website, contact ATC via phone at (650) 595-1542 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Founded in 1956, the Metal Building Manufacturers Association (MBMA) serves manufacturers and suppliers as it works to promote the metal building systems industry. Its membership represents more than $2.4 billion in annual sales and accounts for approximately 52% of the total non-residential low-rise construction market in the United States. The association provides a wealth of technical information on its website, www.mbma.com, for anyone who works with or is interested in metal building systems, and publishes numerous technical manuals and design guides.

Click here to download the ATC Ground Snow Load Website flyer.

Welcome to the ATC Team!

Michael Valley

As a former Principal at Magnusson Klemencic Associates in Seattle, Mike Valley comes to ATC with more than 30 years of structural engineering experience in new design, evaluation and retrofit of existing buildings, applied research, and codes and standards development. Mike’s design experience includes the landmark Salesforce Tower in San Francisco, and his research and development experience includes the FEMA 356 Prestandard and Commentary for the Seismic Rehabilitation of Buildings, FEMA P-2012 Assessing Seismic Performance of Buildings with Configuration Irregularities (ATC-123 Project), and NIST GCR 10-917-9 Applicability of Nonlinear Multiple-Degree-of-Freedom Modeling for Design (ATC-76-6 Project).

Mike also has extensive experience as an ATC consultant serving as a reviewer, a technical contributor, and Project Director on multiple ATC projects. We look forward to how Mike’s unique experiences as a successful team member will contribute to ATC projects in the future.

Michael Mahoney

Retired from federal service as a Senior Geophysicist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Mike Mahoney comes to ATC with more than 30 years of experience in hazard mitigation program management and policy development, post-disaster response and recovery, and problem-focused research and development in support of FEMA’s efforts under the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP). He has led FEMA’s earthquake-related work with the International Code Council and has been involved with the development of national model codes and standards since 1984.

In his career at FEMA, Mike has led the development of countless major FEMA publications, including: FEMA 350 Recommended Seismic Design Criteria for New Steel Moment-Frame Buildings and its series of companion reports (ATC-41 Project series), FEMA P-58 Seismic Performance Assessment of Buildings, Methodology and Implementation (ATC-58 Project series), FEMA P-695 Quantification of Building Seismic Performance Factors (ATC-63 Project), FEMA P-2018 Seismic Evaluation of Older Concrete Buildings for Collapse Potential (ATC-78 Project), and FEMA P-2090/NIST SP-1254 Recommended Options for Improving the Built Environment for Post-Earthquake Reoccupancy and Functional Recovery Time (ATC-137 Project). With Mike’s extensive knowledge of federal government programs, and past collaboration with state and local agencies, hazard mitigation partners, and code development organizations, we look forward to how his unique experiences will help serve ATC’s client needs and objectives in the future.