Weatherlawyer wrote:
Adrian D. Shaw wrote:

However, if the dry snow became wet snow as a result of a thaw, and without
further top-up from above, it would weigh the same as it did before. It
would, in the process, compact a bit.

On reading the story, I thought the statement odd, as I suspect what
happened was as I describe.

Except that its disposition would change. If it moves a sheet that is
firmly fixed, the girder -or rather the structure, it is fixed to
might move. Fairly recent roof designs rely on the integrity of the
whole roof rather than the the shear strength of individual beams.

I gather there are megastructures of the same sort in the UK. Isn't a
recent airport or railway station of a similar design? Without actually
seeing a decent report of the subject, it is -as is all modern news
reportage these days, just bull **** speculation. But you must have
known that?

(Didn't the term "BBC" alert you, subconsiously?)

Here is the first link I could find to suss building problems in modern
roof designs. And this is for a country with "western" mores:
http://www.inspect.co.nz/roof.htm

Whilst Russian technical development is excellent and Polish
engineering skills are second to none, neither country has an history
of superb labour relations.

Under communism, the workers would be likely to skive off and leave a
job unfinished, -alcoholism taking the place of job satisfaction. Sadly
the rise of gangsterism has been the most potent outcome of changes in
government in those two countries.

I've been trying to find a link to the woven structures used in modern
roof ironwork. Also; I can't remember which large UK roof was in the
news recently. Anyone?