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Cloud‑seeding contractor reports radar ‘seeding signatures’ and seasonal operations; county contributed $10,000
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Summary
Jared Smith of the cloud‑seeding contractor briefed the commission on drone seeding this winter, reporting 12 operations (nine on the LaSalle range) and radar signatures consistent with targeted seeding; Grand County contributed $10,000 to the season’s effort alongside other partners and staff requested a final report with yield estimates.
A vendor update on the county’s cloud‑seeding program outlined recent operations, scientific approaches to validation and a plan for a final season report to quantify yield.
Jared Smith (cloud‑seeding contractor) described a move toward radar‑ and satellite‑based validation that seeks so‑called ‘‘seeding signatures’’ in storms — localized pulses of precipitation downwind of seeding that can be identified by radar. He said the firm had detected roughly 70 signatures across operations in Utah and Idaho historically and identified pulses in the LaSalle range during recent flights.
Smith said the contractor flew 12 operational missions this season (nine targeting LaSalle, three targeting the Abajos) despite a generally warm winter. He told commissioners the funding mix allocated roughly 70% of county‑funded effort to LaSalle Mountains and 30% to the Abajos and noted county and neighboring contributions: Grand County provided $10,000 and San Juan County provided $10,000; other partners also provided funds though the Moab city contribution did not materialize.
Commissioners asked for a final report that would include estimates of induced precipitation expressed in acre‑feet and for the contractor to refine radar validation and plume‑dispersion analyses. ‘‘Our ultimate goal is to say: this last storm produced X acre‑feet of water over your mountain range, and here’s the proof with radar,’’ Smith said.
Staff said the state Division of Water Resources is tracking interest in multi‑year support, and the contractor said he will present a final summary to the commission and the city with radar evidence and yield estimates once analyses are complete.
