Snow on the roof is good.  Snow loads greater than what the structure 
was designed for is not so good.  I understand that the amount of rain 
you received on top of the amount of snow you received was extreme, but 
was it beyond what could have been reasonably assumed?

I  haven't had much to do with low sloped roofs...except to repair 
them, replace them and increase their slope.  If snow on a low slope 
roof causes it to fail, it might be reasonable to question the wisdom 
of designing such a roof in a region that receives snow...and outdoors.

As for removing snow from a roof.  That's a dangerous undertaking.  
Besides the potential for damaging people, you can damage the roof.  
Lots of people do it...they even advertise special long handled rakes 
for doing it.  They also sell powerwashers to people who don't want to 
scrape before priming and painting.  That don't make it smart.

-jc

On Wednesday, February 26, 2003, at 09:49  AM, Met History wrote:

> In a message dated 2/26/03 10:00:52 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
> [log in to unmask] writes:
>
> Snow on the roof is a good thing.  (In the winter...you got winter in 
> New Jersey?)
>
>
> Yeah, except when it's two feet of light stuff and then it rains, as 
> in the ToysRUs collapse a few days ago.  I was surprised - 
> lightweight, long span construction, suddenly loaded by rain drenched 
> snow - that there weren't more collapses.  Did other people foresee 
> that, and got the snow off the roof? [ShovelsRUs]  Or does anyone have 
> the opinion that maybe there was a little something wrong with the 
> design for that building?    Christopher