Statistical characteristics of snow loads

When calculating the building structure reliability, it is necessary to have information about the variability of the strength and elastic properties of building materials, the loads acting on the structure, the geometric dimensions of spans and sections, etc. The current loads, including snow loads, have the greatest statistical dispersion and, taking into account the our country climatic conditions, have a significant impact on the stress-strain state of building structures. Snow load statistical characteristics are the result of processing long-term meteorological observations for the snow cover amount in the regions of the country. The lack of information on the snow load statistical characteristics is an objection to practical reliability calculations of building structures. In the load norms SP20.13330.2011 and SP 20.13330.2016, the snow load calculated value is taken as the annual maximum weight of the snow cover, which is exceeded on average once every 25 and 50 years, respectively. The article presents the relationship between the calculated values of snow load in SP 20.13330.2011 and SP 20.13330.2016 and its probabilistic characteristics. It shows the possibility of using Humbel's distribution law for snow load probabilistic modeling with the determination of the characteristics necessary for calculating the reliability and service life of building structures (with a probability of 0.96 and 0.98) depending on the snow area.