Interesting question. I've kind of grappled with this one myself. We (Colorado) had a huge 100-year blizzard last year; it was 6' of snow with high water content. Most structures seemed to have minimal problems. I noticed on my house that afterwards, the rafters had sagged somewhat for a while--they have since straightened themselves out (a structural engineer told me they'll do this!, I was amazed!)

He also said that structures are built to withstand significant snow loads--to local code (our blizzard was, hopefully, the last one that size we'll ever see!) In our area (probably yours as well), the snow load (pounds/sq ft, I believe) can be easily found through the county; even on their web page.

During/after the blizzard, I did try and remove some of the weight from the roof. But I couldn't reach all that much of it, and I certainly didn't want any/all of it to come down on me! And I wouldn't want to fall off the roof, either.

Anyway it did sound like stress cracks (like in corners) weren't all that uncommon after the blizzard. There were some building collapses, but not many, thank goodness.

Anyway, this is not a direct answer to your question, of course. But in my personal experience, my mind was set more at ease about having a fair bit of snow stay up there.

So, all that said, how much snow are we talking about?

Regards,
-k2

How much snow you have on it?How old is the house and how old the roof is can be a big factor in all this

If ice-damming is not a problem on your roof, and the amount of snow is less than 1 ft., then by all means, leave it alone. However, if you have more than 1 ft., and your roof structure is "economically-built", then the weight of snow (45 lbs. per cubic foot) can stress a roof structure. The usual reason people want the snow off their roof is that they have poor insulation/ventilation which leads to ice-damming, which leads to interior damage.

If you determine you have to get the snow off your roof I wouldn't get up there. Go spend the money to buy a roof rake. They can't be that much money.

Devildog