Idaho Water Officials OK Aerial Cloud Seeding Project

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho water officials say they want to expand cloud seeding efforts by taking an aerial approach to coax more snow from winter storms. The Idaho Water Resource Board has approved spending $200,000 for a one-year aerial cloud seeding project.

Officials want to use an aircraft to disperse cloud seeding chemicals in the Upper Snake River Basin in eastern Idaho. The state will work with Idaho Power — which has been expanding its own cloud seeding efforts since the early 2000s — to conduct the project.

Shaun Parkinson with Idaho Power says airplanes provide more opportunity to shoot silver iodide into the air stream rather than ground-based methods. Silver iodide helps water droplets crystalize and form snowflakes. The company says they've seen snowpack levels improve by 14 percent through cloud seeding.