The State of Nevada Operational Seeding Program

by John W. Fordham, Univ of Nevada System, Reno, United States,
Richard H. Stone, Univ of Nevada System, Reno, United States,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Water Resources Planning and Management and Urban Water Resources

Abstract:

Integration of the Nevada Operational Weather Modification Program into management of the region's water supply is a key element to meet the increasing demands placed on these limited resources. As with most areas of the west, competition among water users is increasing. The seeding program is based upon the hypothesis that winter storms occurring in mountainous regions are, at times, inefficient at converting supercooled liquid water (SLW) and vapor in clouds into precipitation due to a lack of sufficient numbers of naturally occurring ice nuclei in the winter storms. The seeding programs primarily utilize radio-controlled ground-based aerosol generator systems located upwind of the target areas with the Carson-Walker and Truckee-Tahoe watersheds being supplemented by the use of airborne generator systems. The generator systems and functions are controlled and monitored by a micro computer so that the status of each individual unit can be determined remotely. Seeding platform mode, ground and aircraft, is determined by the forecasting meteorologist and is dependent on storm types. Ground-based seeding is the preferred mode because the majority of SLW passing over the mountain barrier is typically located in the lower layers of the atmosphere. Seeding is restricted to orographic storms which pass over the area in winter and early spring.

Subject Headings: Water supply | Water management | Storms | Winter | Water supply systems | Chemical compounds | Weather modification | Nevada | United States

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