The objective of this study is to update the ground snow loads for the state of Idaho. The previous study (Taheri 1985) used the snow data up to 1983. The stations of the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), formerly the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), as well as the National Weather Services (NWS) Coop stations, were analyzed for the entire State of Idaho. Additional data from neighboring states were also analyzed to ensure that the snow load mapping considers stations near the borders of Idaho. The NRCS provides two types of stations: the Snow Courses and the SNOwpack TELemetry (SNOTEL) stations. Both types of stations provide continuous monitoring of the snow-water equivalent in inches of water for each location. The NWS Coop stations measure snow depth in inches. The Log Pearson Type III (LP3) is an extreme-value distribution that is used to obtain the 50-year mean recurrence interval (MRI) values; it is the same approach that was used in the Idaho 1985 study. The 50-year MRI values were selected for the ground snow loads. For the NRCS stations, the 50-year snow-water equivalent is the snow load. For the NWS Coop stations, the 50-year snow depth is converted to the ground snow load using the Rocky Mountain Conversion Density (RMCD) (Sack 1986). Subsequently, the ground snow load of each station is divided by its elevation in feet to provide the normalized ground snow load (NGSL). The NGSLs were mapped using ArcGIS to provide a statewide contour map. The NGSL was used because it was previously found to be the best method of mapping the information (Rusten 1976). This approach is also used for the States of Washington and Montana. The Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) method within ArcGIS was found to give the most accurate results.

Specialists in building and civil engineering, architecture, traffic and transport engineering, urban planning and avalanche science came together at the Fifth International Conference on Snow Engineering, organized by the Federal Swiss Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research in Davos 2004. This event belongs to a series of Snow Engineering Conferences held every four years since 1988. These conferences have become an important event for the international exchange of information on recent developments in snow engineering. The following thematic areas were discussed in the technical sessions and are here presented in this volume: - Transportation - Housing and Residential Planning - Snow Loads - Ski Mechanics - Hazard Mitigation - Snow Technology and Science - Avalanche Engineering

The objective of the conference was to provide a forum for engineers, architects and scientists to discuss a broad range of research and design methods for various problems related to snow engineering. Specialists in building and civil engineering, environmental engineering, energy engineering, urban planning, and regional development as well as snow scientists were brought together for the conference. The technical sessions were in five thematic areas as follows: Snow technology and science; Building and construction engineering; Infrastructure and transportation; Housing and residential planning; Development strategy in snow countries. The 115 papers provide keys to realize more comfortable living conditions in snow countries and to overcome many problems in heavy snow regions.

Timber, steel, and concrete are common engineering materials used in structural design. Material choice depends upon the type of structure, availability of material, and the preference of the designer. The design practices the code requirements of each material are very different. In this updated edition, the elemental designs of individual components of each material are presented, together with theory of structures essential for the design. Numerous examples of complete structural designs have been included. A comprehensive database comprising materials properties, section properties, specifications, and design aids, has been included to make this essential reading.