Texas Cloud Seeding Experiments using Electrically Charged Droplets: 2017-2022

Research operations, using electrostatically charged water droplets as a seeding agent, were conducted in convective clouds over West Texas as an exploratory experiment in 2017. Research continued later in its confirmatory phase through 2022. The initial research flights were conducted using an Air Tractor 402B provided by the USDA, and later both a Piper Comanche and 502B were equipped to extend those operations. For the assessments of possible impacts, radar data and TITAN software were used, following the same protocols established for the evaluations of long-running operational cloud-seeding programs in Texas. A total of 18 small and isolated seeded clouds were compared with similar control (unseeded) cases provided by the TITAN software. Such a comparison indicated significant increases in lifetime, area, precipitation flux, and precipitation mass among other variables of interest, and the average increases appeared to be larger than those obtained with glaciogenic (silver iodide) flares used in the legacy rain-enhancement projects in Texas (1996-2023). In this paper, we summarize the approach taken in the research and results from the analysis of data, both of which led the U. S. Department of Agriculture to request a U. S. patent which has since been issued.