Can snow on a steel roof in a residence cause it
to collapse?  Does anyone have documentary evidence
that six feet of snow/ice on a house with a steel
roof cause the roof to collapse? Obviously, I am
trying to convince a friend that cracking sheet
rock, 'torque-ing' of vertical walls, creaks, etc.,
are cause for alarm!

If by "torquing" you are referring to the walls buckling into a bowed
shape the roof is definately overloaded.  This is cause for alarm.

Yes, by 'torque-ing,' I mean that the vertical members of
the wall [sheetrocked, and presumably a two-by-four underneath]
is now one inch out of vertical.  Sighting down a plumb line,
the line is at a vertical wall at the base, but seven feet above,
at the ceiling, it's one inch out of plumb!  Still, documented
evidence, to persuade the owner [my friend] is probably the 
only thing that will get him to do something about what I think
is a potentially unsafe house!

KWD --

There's ample evidence, particularly with snow of that depth.  See
this page on Seattle's snowstorm of 1996 --
http://www.cityofseattle.net/emergency_mgt/hazards/snowIceStorms.htm

During that storm hundreds of buildings, marinas and homes were
damaged in the area after only about 24" of snow.  I remember the
Sunday when all of the damage occurred clearly:
*  it has snowed heavily over two days, Friday and Saturday
*  on Sunday morning it started to rain, increasing the weight of the
snow dramatically
*  by 8 a.m. marinas, which tend to have steel roofs covering power
boats, were reporting problems with boats sinking.  The weight of the
snow was carrying the entire marina -- including the boats that were
tied up -- under water.  If you untied your boat to try to get it out,
often the marina would collapse on you because the BOATS were holding
the marina up!
*  by 9 a.m. flat-roofed buildings common to retail shopping malls in
the U.S. were starting to collapse.
*  residential roofs went later in the day 

If we search hard enough we can probably find video of some of those
roof collapses, because TV news crews were catching the marinas live
throughout the morning.  However, it probably won't includ a personal
residence, as those would have been more scarce and less newsworthy.

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

The material that covers the roof has absolutely nothing to do with
the ability of the structure to support a snow load. If your friend
thinks that because his roof is covered by a thin (probably 28 gauge)
layer of steel that he has nothing to worry about, he is very wrong.
All that the steel does is prevent water from entering his home and
add to the weight that his walls support. The 2x4's that you refer to
in the walls are the only things that are supporting the 6 feet of
snow and ice over his head. The fact that they are deflecting 1 inch
at their midpoint is more than cause for concern. It is a sign of
possible failure. I don't think you should waste time searching for a
horror story about a structure failing due to snow. You need to find a
way to remove that snow right now.

Your friend will not change his mind.  His mind is made up and no
amount of evidence is going to change it.

If he doesn't see that danger with 2X4s flexed 1 inch he is not going
to with the evidence you'll find here.

If you are really worried that someone could die because of his
hardheadness - then I suggest you get the snow removed.

You could also call the city and have them take a look at it.  If it
is a danger they will condemn the property until repairs are made.

Here is an article from a Reno paper:

http://www.sparkstribune.net/Stories/1-10-05Avalanche.htm

Here a short piece of that article:

Heavy snow was blamed for the collapse of a Salvation Army warehouse
roof Sunday in Reno. No injuries were reported. A number of apartment
carports also folded onto vehicles under the weight of the snow.