States and utility companies are investing in “cloud seeding” - a way to artificially increase precipitation in the drought-ridden American
# Cloud Seeding Forms Measurable Snowfall. When clouds that possess the right characteristics form over the mountains in the winter, inserting cloud-seeding particles at the right time and place can improve ice and snow formation leading to extra snowfall. The detailed observations from weather radars and instruments flown on research aircraft in SNOWIE not only clearly showed the cloud-seeding signals, but also collected quantitative estimates of the extra water reaching the ground that was directly related to the cloud seeding. The SNOWIE experiment changed the narrative around cloud seeding from “Does it work?” to “When and how does it work most effectively?” As a result of SNOWIE, nearly every western U.S. state, as well as many countries around the world, have begun or (re)invigorated efforts to consider cloud seeding as a possible water-resource management strategy. In addition, SNOWIE set the example for identifying patterns from airborne cloud seeding with radar, and several operational cloud-seeding programs have now observed this signature.
Based on its findings, Stanford University ecologist Jerry Bradley said: "I think you can squeeze out a little more snow or rain in some places under some conditions, but that's quite different from a program claiming to reliably increase precipitation." Data similar to that of the NAS study was acquired in a separate study conducted by the Wyoming Weather Modification Pilot Project, but whereas the NAS study concluded that "it is difficult to show clearly that cloud seeding has a very large effect", the WWMPP study concluded that "seeding could augment the snowpack by a maximum of 3% over an entire season.". In 2016, Jeff Tilley, director of weather modification at the Desert Research Institute in Reno, claimed that new technology and research has produced reliable results that make cloud seeding a dependable and affordable water supply practice for many regions. **^** "Weather Modification Association (WMA) Position on the Environmental Impact of using Silver Iodide as a Cloud Seeding Agent" (PDF).
Utah State University Extension explains how cloud seeding safely increases snowfall to boost Utah's shrinking snowpack and water supply.
Cloud seeding is a method used to enhance or initiate precipitation in suitable cloud systems. Silver iodide is sprayed into already formed
They found that injecting clouds with silver iodide generated precipitation at multiple sites, sometimes creating snowfall where none had
One of the most common methods of cloud seeding involves the addition of silver iodide to clouds. That chemical compound is considered safe
Scientists say cloud seeding can boost snowpack by up to 12% during storms that already form naturally, a small change that can add up for