Cloud seeding could be used to boost winter snowpack in the Big Hole watershed. That’s according to researchers with the National Science Foundation.
Cloud seeding involves releasing particles of silver iodide into the atmosphere. The iodide sticks to excess liquid water inside clouds and turns it into snow.
Dr. Sarah Tessendorf is a scientist with the National Center for Atmospheric Research. She presented preliminary findings Tuesday on whether the practice could work in southwest Montana.
She says cloud seeding has been used for years to boost snowpack by as much as 10-15 percent in other western states. Climate data from the Big Hole watershed, Tessendorf says, show potential for the technique to work there as well.
"The presence of the supercooled liquid water in all of these different regions – from the Beaverheads to the Pintlers to the Pioneers – indicate there’s some opportunity for potential ground-based seeding," Tessendorf says.
The 2023 Montana Legislature set aside funding to study cloud seeding in southwest Montana.
Low water prompted fishing restrictions across the region this summer. The Big Hole remains closed to fishing.
Tessendorf says her research will outline a pilot program in the Big Hole by February.
