Olympic Cloud Seeding Causing Colorado Drought?
Internet E-Mails Make Claims That Don't Stand Up
POSTED: 10:45 a.m. MST February 8, 2002
DENVER -- Is Utah's cloud seeding for the Olympics to blame for Colorado's drought?
That's what e-mails circulating on the Internet are asking.
The e-mails cite cloud-seeding efforts in Utah that squeeze the moisture out of storm clouds that will eventually flow over Colorado.
The fact is Utah has been seeding clouds for moisture well before the Olympics. A search of records indicates that Nevada and Utah have been seeding clouds for snow for nearly 30 years. That means if their efforts affected Colorado weather, we'd have experienced drought conditions over the past three decades.
Precipitation data from a number of cloud-seeding projects in Utah have been examined for evidence of downwind effects. Results from these analyses showed a slight increase in precipitation in areas up to 90 miles downwind from the project area. No decrease in precipitation was detected farther downwind from any long-term project.
Utah has operated a cloud-seeding program since 1974 following the 1973 Utah Cloud Seeding Act. The law provides for licensing cloud seeding operators and permitting cloud-seeding projects by the Utah Division of Water Resources. The act states that, for water right purposes, all water derived from cloud seeding will be treated as though it fell naturally.
But Utah and Nevada are not alone in cloud-seeding efforts. Some Colorado ski areas also seed clouds. Telluride, Durango, Vail and Beaver Creek all have used cloud seeding to increase snowfall.
"The attraction is simple," said Mike Smedley, spokesman for Durango Mountain Resort. "It can be the difference between three inches and six inches, which makes it a powder day."
In one snowstorm over the Christmas holiday, Vail received a foot of snow, Beaver Creek fourteen inches and Aspen nine. Vail Resorts claims that the higher snow amounts on its mountains were the direct result of cloud seeding.
'With individual storms, cloud seeding can have a 10-20% increase in snowfall,' said Joe Macy, of Vail Resorts. Each winter the company spends $134,000 on its 'cloud-seeding program', now in its 23rd year.
"A relatively small percentage of the moisture that passes over falls as additional snow. We are by no means sucking all the moisture out of the clouds," said Macy.
In other words, don't blame cloud seeding for any lack of snow farther downwind.
Additional Resources:
Precipitation data from a number of cloud-seeding projects in Utah have been examined for evidence of downwind effects. Results from these analyses showed a slight increase in precipitation in areas up to 90 miles downwind from the project area. No decrease in precipitation was detected farther downwind from any long-term project.
Utah has operated a cloud-seeding program since 1974 following the 1973 Utah Cloud Seeding Act. The law provides for licensing cloud seeding operators and permitting cloud-seeding projects by the Utah Division of Water Resources. The act states that, for water right purposes, all water derived from cloud seeding will be treated as though it fell naturally.
But Utah and Nevada are not alone in cloud-seeding efforts. Some Colorado ski areas also seed clouds. Telluride, Durango, Vail and Beaver Creek all have used cloud seeding to increase snowfall.
"The attraction is simple," said Mike Smedley, spokesman for Durango Mountain Resort. "It can be the difference between three inches and six inches, which makes it a powder day."
In one snowstorm over the Christmas holiday, Vail received a foot of snow, Beaver Creek fourteen inches and Aspen nine. Vail Resorts claims that the higher snow amounts on its mountains were the direct result of cloud seeding.
'With individual storms, cloud seeding can have a 10-20% increase in snowfall,' said Joe Macy, of Vail Resorts. Each winter the company spends $134,000 on its 'cloud-seeding program', now in its 23rd year.
"A relatively small percentage of the moisture that passes over falls as additional snow. We are by no means sucking all the moisture out of the clouds," said Macy.
In other words, don't blame cloud seeding for any lack of snow farther downwind.
Additional Resources:Copyright 2002 by TheDenverChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
