when the roof is covered w/ snow, it does not matter what color the
roof is?

I have not paid a much attention to this though people have told me it
does -- but I'm not certain how much I believe that. That is why I ask.

Several ways it could make a difference --usually snow pack is not thick
or may be none around edges and so I suspect a dark roof starts melting
faster there. Also snow must be quite thick in order that there be no
penetration through to the roof -- so it'd expect the roof to be a bit
warmer under even a modest snow layer. The other potential issue is that
the emissivity of a black and a white roof are probably quite different,
meaning perhaps you get more thermal radiation from below for the black
roof case.

I don't know if any of this matters in practice, or if it's a bad thing to
leave snow on the roof as long as possible. I'm personally leaning toward
using as light a roof as possible while still looking good -- unless there
are some issues with that thinking.

Thanks,
Rob