Cloud seeding approved in Wyoming

[Faster horses]

An operational cloud-seeding program will take place in the Big Horns, Laramie, Medicine Bow and Sierra Madre mountains in Wyoming. Separately, money was appropriated for the Wind River Mountains for next winter if other states in the Colorado Basin chip in money.

"We're trying to play catch-up as a state in Wyoming," Sen. Curt Meier (R-LaGrange) said, noting that
other states already have cloud-seeding programs.

Cloud seeding involves injecting silver iodide into clouds either from aircraft or from generators on the ground. Under the right conditions, the chemical can help water droplets grow and fall to the ground.

Wyoming last year completed a $13 million research project that began in 2005 to determine whether cloud
seeding would increase the amount of snowpack in the Medicine Bow and Sierra Madre ranges in southern Wyoming and the Wind River Range in central Wyoming. The research indicated that cloud seeing can increase mountain snowfall up to 15% a year and has negligible environmental effects.

The project has some opponents.
-AP

 

[Soapweed]

I think there was cloud seeding going on in the Black Hills in June of 1972, when Rapid City had its catastrophic flood.

 

[Faster horses]

I guess I had forgotten about that, or maybe never knew it. Interesting for sure.

ND has been cloud seeding for quite a few years now. We didn't like it when we were in a drought and ND was getting rain. It was controversial, but I don't think they stopped doing it.

 

[littlejoe]

I think there was cloud seeding going on in the Black Hills in June of 1972, when Rapid City had its catastrophic flood.

they were experimenting with this in '64. The neighbor lady had one, was supposed to turn it on for so long, then off for so long.

In early june a weather system stalled out between glacier park and hi way 200, about 100+ miles south.

It dumped 14" of rain in 24 hours, on a heavy snowpack. A 500 yr flood resulted, took out swift damn, drowned maybe a dozen people on birch creek, another drowning as far south as sun river. On the sun, the glory hole @ gibson damn was taking 50,000 cfs and about 4' of water was coming over entire length of dam.

It was a tremendously devastating flood. Poor neighbor lady had forgotten to turn her 'seeder' off-----just knew she caused it all....