The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) today announced the completion of a feasibility study on wintertime cloud seeding to enhance mountain snowpack in southwest Montana. The study highlights the potential for cloud seeding to increase water availability, which is crucial for agriculture, recreation and overall water security in the region.
In 2023, the Montana State Legislature appropriated funds in House Bill 2, requiring DNRC to complete an analysis on the feasibility of wintertime cloud seeding to enhance mountain snowpack in southwest Montana.
The study, conducted in partnership with the National Science Foundation’s National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR) and Montana Technological University (Montana Tech) explored weather patterns and climatological conditions in southwest Montana to estimate potential benefits, costs and challenges of implementing a cloud seeding program in the region. The study is a result of a legislative requirement from the 2023 session.
The study analyzed conditions in the north Beaverhead, Anaconda/Pintler and Pioneer Mountain Ranges to estimate outcomes associated with both ground-based and airborne cloud seeding operations in the Big Hole Watershed. Supercomputing capacity provided by Montana Tech was used to model various complex wintertime precipitation scenarios. By running both a control simulation with no seeding and another where seeding was simulated, NSF NCAR was able to calculate the estimated seeding effect. The study also developed cost and benefit estimates and program recommendations for a pilot project.
The study estimates potential increases in streamflow of between 20,000-to-60,000-acre feet in the Big Hole watershed, depending on the program design and seasonal conditions. Estimated costs to implement the program vary from $12 to $60 per acre foot.
The study identified potential challenges that could reduce seeding opportunities and success rate, such as variable prevailing winds and flow blocking by geographic features. Definitive information on the viability of cloud seeding in southwest Montana would require a multi-year pilot project to implement and measure study recommendations.
Cloud seeding involves introducing tiny particles into certain types of subfreezing clouds to enhance the formation of rain and snow, a technique used in some western states for over 60 years.
Source: Montana DNRC
