Drought continues to plague the Colorado River Basin. Could cloud seeding be a helpful solution?

In The NoCo

Drought continues to plague the Colorado River Basin. Could cloud seeding be a helpful solution?

By In The NoCo,

Published May 26, 2025 at 5:35 AM MDT

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This shows a man holding wiring standing next to a trailer and truck while another man stands on top of the trailer setting up could seeding equipment. — Brothers Parker and Carver Cammans install cloud seeding equipment Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, in Lyons, Colo. The weather modification method uses planes and ground-based cannons to shoot silver iodide crystals into clouds, attracting moisture to the particles that falls as additional snow and rain. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)

Manipulating the clouds to make it rain or snow sounds like something straight out of science fiction. But in reality, the is decades old, going back to the 1940s.

The science of cloud seeding got some new attention recently after lawmakers ordered the Government Accountability Office to look into the technology as water becomes a more precious resource in the U.S. That report says cloud seeding shows promise, but more research is probably needed before we make it part of any serious federal policies.

So, as drought continues to be a problem for the Colorado River Basin, some experts wonder if it鈥檚 time to look more seriously at cloud seeding鈥檚 potential.

萝莉少女鈥檚 in-house water reporter Alex Hager spoke with Erin O鈥橳oole in February about what he鈥檚 learned about how cloud seeding might help the Colorado River Basin. We鈥檙e listening back to that conversation today.

For more on the Colorado River, check out 萝莉少女鈥檚 award-winning podcast Thirst Gap.

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In The NoCo

萝莉少女's In The NoCo is a daily slice of stories, news, people and issues. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The show brings context and insight to the stories of the day, often elevating unheard voices in the process. And because life in Northern Colorado is a balance of work and play, we celebrate the lighter side of things here, too.

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Erin O'Toole

As the host of 萝莉少女鈥檚 new program and podcast In the NoCo, I work closely with our producers and reporters to bring context and diverse perspectives to the important issues of the day. Northern Colorado is such a diverse and growing region, brimming with history, culture, music, education, civic engagement, and amazing outdoor recreation. I love finding the stories and voices that reflect what makes NoCo such an extraordinary place to live.

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Alex Hager

Alex is 萝莉少女's reporter covering the Colorado River Basin. He spent two years at Aspen Public Radio, mainly reporting on the resort economy, the environment and the COVID-19 pandemic. Before that, he covered the world鈥檚 largest sockeye salmon fishery for KDLG in Dillingham, Alaska.

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Brad Turner

Brad Turner is an executive producer in 萝莉少女's newsroom. He manages the podcast team that makes In The NoCo, which also airs weekdays in Morning Edition and All Things Considered. His work as a podcaster and journalist has appeared on NPR's Weekend Edition, NPR Music, the PBS Newshour, Colorado Public Radio, MTV Online, the Denver Post, Boulder's Daily Camera, and the Longmont Times-Call.

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