On the map of the national annex, the French territory is divided by canton into five regions of snow identified from A to E. Three of these regions (A to C) are subdivided into two to account for accidental snow precipitation.
| Zone | A1 | A2 | B1 | B2 | C1 | C2 | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic value of snow on the ground without elevation sk,0 | 0.45 kN/m2 | 0.45 kN/m2 | 0.55 kN/m2 | 0.55 kN/m2 | 0.65 kN/m2 | 0.65 kN/m2 | 0.90 kN/m2 | 1.40 kN/m2 |
| Design value of exceptional snow load on the ground> sk,0 | - | 1.00 kN/m2 | 1.00 kN/m2 | 1.35 kN/m2 | - | 1.35 kN/m2 | 1.80 kN/m2 | - |
Snow zoning of France (2011-2024)
The French overseas departments, overseas territories and overseas collectivities are not subject to snowfall except Saint Pierre and Miquelon.
Characteristic value of snow on the ground without elevation at Saint Pierre and Miquelon: sk,0 = 2.60kN/m2
Two distinct variation laws must be applied depending on whether the construction is in snow zone E or not.
Snow loads are calculated as follows:
Up to 200m
From 200m to 500m
From 500m to 1000m
From 1000m to 2000m
where A is the elevation of the site.
See the features of Eurocodes Zoning for snow analysis in France
Available in English/French, otherwise «Google Translate»!
| Distances / Direction | At the place of construction | 500m | 1000m |
|---|---|---|---|
| North | 436 m | 360m | 407m |
| Northeast | 405m | 465m | |
| East | 456m | 473m | |
| Southeast | 419m | 446m | |
| South | 449m | 476m | |
| Southwest | 432m | 411m | |
| West | 360m | 468m | |
| Northwest | 403m | 452m |
| Sectors | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Categories | IIIa | IV | IV | IV |
NF EN 1991-1-3/NA (may 2007) + A1 (july 2011)
NF EN 1991-1-4/NA (march 2008) + A1 (july 2011) + A2 (september 2012) + A3 (april 2019)
| Sectors | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sector definition | from 35 ° to 125 ° | from 125 ° to 215 ° | from 215 ° to 305 ° | from 305 ° to 35 ° |
| Fundamental value of the basic wind velocity vb,0 | 24.0m/s | |||
| Shape parameter K | 0.2 | |||
| Exponent n | 0.5 | |||
| Annual probability of exceedence p | 0.01 | |||
| Probability factor cprob | 1.038 | |||
| Directional factor cdir | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Basic wind velocity vb | 17.4m/s | 24.9m/s | 24.9m/s | 24.9m/s |
| Reference roughness length z0,II | 0.05m | |||
| Roughness length z0 | 0.2m | 1.0m | 1.0m | 1.0m |
| Terrain factor kr | 0.209 | 0.234 | 0.234 | 0.234 |
| Height above ground z | 15.0m | |||
| Minimum height zmin | 5.0m | 15.0m | 15.0m | 15.0m |
| Roughness factor cr(z) | 0.904 | 0.635 | 0.635 | 0.635 |
| Orography factor * co(z) | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Mean wind velocity vm(z) | 15.8m/s | 15.8m/s | 15.8m/s | 15.8m/s |
| Turbulence factor kl | 0.97 | 0.854 | 0.854 | 0.854 |
| Standard deviation of the turbulence σv | 3.544m/s | 4.989m/s | 4.989m/s | 4.989m/s |
| Turbulence intensity Iv(z) | 0.225 | 0.315 | 0.315 | 0.315 |
| Air density ρ | 1.225kg/m3 | |||
| Exposure factor ce(z) | 2.102 | 1.292 | 1.292 | 1.292 |
| Peak velocity pressure qp(z) | 392.0N/m2 | 491.5N/m2 | 491.5N/m2 | 491.5N/m2 |
| Peak wind velocity for Serviceability Limit States vp(z),SLS | 91.1km/h | 102.0km/h | 102.0km/h | 102.0km/h |
| Peak wind velocity for Ultimate Limit States vp(z),ULS | 111.5km/h | 124.9km/h | 124.9km/h | 124.9km/h |
Code of the Environment - Article D563-8-1 (09/01/2015) JORF n°0248 of 24/10/2010 text N°5
