A Numerical Evaluation of the Impact of Operational Ground-Based Glaciogenic Cloud Seeding on Precipitation over the Wind River Range, Wyoming
Authors: Mazzetti Thomas , Geerts Bart , Xue Lulin 
Published: January 2023

This study evaluates an operational glaciogenic cloud-seeding program using ground-based generators of silver iodide (AgI), with a total of 190 seeded storms over 10 cold seasons, using the Weather Research and Forecasting Weather Modification (WRF-WxMod) scheme at 900-m grid spacing. This study examines both the quantitative change in precipitation and the ambient and cloud conditions impacting seeding efficacy. An ensemble approach is used, with differing model boundary conditions, ice nucleation physics, concentrations of cloud condensation nuclei, and boundary layer schemes. This is intended to provide an envelope of uncertainty of natural clouds and seeding impacts. The simulations are validated against radiosonde, snow gauge, and microwave radiometer observations, and the seeding impact is inferred from simulations with/without AgI seeding. The seeding-induced precipitation enhancement (“yield”) varies greatly between storms. A small portion of the cases produces the majority of the yield. Overall, the precipitation in the target area (the Wind River Range in Wyoming) increased by 1.10% ± 0.13% in the 10 years of operational seeding. This rather low fractional increase is related to the frequent seeding at unsuitable times, primarily because of low-level flow blocking. The flow and cloud structure for select cases are examined to provide better insight into the variability of yield. Cases with unblocked surface flow and abundant cloud liquid water tend to be the most productive. The technique presented here can be readily adapted to evaluate the seeding impact of other long-term glaciogenic seeding operations and to improve their operational efficiency.

Significance Statement

In the United States and elsewhere, there are several operational programs to enhance cold-season precipitation through glaciogenic seeding of orographic clouds. The impact of such activity on seasonal precipitation has always been difficult to quantify. Recent observational and numerical modeling studies indicate that orographic cloud seeding can increase precipitation, although the amounts and optimal seeding conditions remain uncertain. Operators lack guidance about the seeding efficacy and about the most suitable environmental conditions. In recent years a model parameterization, called Weather Research and Forecasting Weather Modification (WRF-WxMod), has been tested against detailed measurements. This sets the stage for our work, a well-designed numerical evaluation of 10 years of operational cloud seeding over the Wind River Range, a mountain range in Wyoming that feeds the Colorado River basin and other watersheds. The WRF-WxMod based simulation experiment presented here, one of the most computationally expensive numerical experiments on this subject to date, quantifies seeding impact and its uncertainty. It is demonstrated with a high degree of confidence that over this 10-yr period, suitable seeding conditions were rare over this mountain range, that most seeding events were unproductive, and that, as a result, the overall yield over 10 years was a mere 1.1%.