This is Janet Kellam with the Sawtooth National Forest Avalanche Center with General Snow and Weather Information on Friday, April 7, 2006. Weather Conditions A week of storms, warm temperatures and wind have brought 3 to 4 inches of water since April 1st. The rain line has climbed as high as 9,000 to 9,500 feet at times, although mostly it has been snow above 8,000feet. Strong winds have blown from both southerly and northerly directions as the storms moved through. Two to three feet of new snow has accumulated above 9,500 feet. The forecast for the weekend is for another round of Pacific storms to enter our region. Temperatures are expected to get up to 34 degrees on Baldy, stay in the high 20s at 10,000feet and near 40 degrees at 8,000feet. The valley floor could get as warm as 50 degrees with night time lows in the valley staying in the upper 20s. Upper elevations could see several inches of snow in the form of snow showers. Avalanche Conditions Wet avalanches are a big concern at lower elevations. The snowpack is saturated, weak and loose below approximately 8,000 feet and we have been getting poor overnight freezes. Most avalanches will be in the form of point releases that initiate from a human or naturally in very, very steep terrain. Two wet slab avalanches occurred several miles north of Ketchum on very steep rocky slopes near the valley bottoms on north and northwest facing terrain. Id recommend not getting on or directly beneath any really steep slopes at low elevations until we get a thorough freeze up. Wet avalanches are possible on any steep slope at all elevations once wet, mushy snow is deeper than your boot tops. Mid elevations are in a transition from a winter-like snowpack to a more consolidated spring freeze-thaw pack. At 8,000 feet in the Galena area the top foot and ½ of newer snow is wet and loose during mid-day heating, but the underlying snowpack remains much more solid and stable than slopes in the Central and South Wood River Valley. Surface sluffing and loose wet surface slides will continue to be a consideration with any newer snow on steep slopes. Upper elevations The good news is we do not have widespread weak layers in the snowpack. Most instabilities should be storm related and will tend to improve after a day or two, but slope by slope evaluation is needed right now due to the large amounts of newer snow. April temperatures and sunshine are intense and will initially decrease the stability of any new snowfall on steeper slopes. However, there exist a couple avalanche concerns: Wind slabs have been forming every day through the progression of storms. Although most appear to stabilize within a day or two of the storm, some new ones did form Friday along upper elevation ridgelines. These newest slabs rest on top of lighter, drier snow and some are even quite hard. Any wind slab that sounds hollow and drum-like merits caution or avoidance on steep slopes. In the Titus area a layer of graupel exists approximately 1 foot deep and most likely formed during our heavy thunderstorm activity Tuesday night and Wednesday. It is not well bonded to the underlying crusts or denser snow. Stability tests show planar shears and moderate stability results on this interface. Keep track of this layer and watch for improving stability over the next few days. If the weakness persists, the instability can increase with new snow loading, intense sunshine or dramatic warm-ups. The same goes for another persistent shear that can be found close to three feet deep, in some upper elevation isolated locations. This layer may be due to very small, faceted snow crystals between denser snow layers and in some cases on a crust. If we get dramatic weather events remember it is out there in some places and the instability can increase. Cornices are larger than usual this spring and with the addition of new snow, wind and warm temperatures they are capable of breaking back much further than imagined. Id like to urge special caution along corniced ridgelines.