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ABSTRACT <br /> An evaluation of first echo detection was conducted on an operational cloud seeding <br />project in North Dakota radar in the summer months of 1999. The North Dakota Cloud <br />Modification Project main objectives are to seed cloud for the purpose of reducing hail <br />damage and increasing rainfall amounts. Weather radar is the main tool used to determine <br />which cells are prime candidates to be seeded. The North Dakota Cloud Modification <br />Project uses two C-band radar to determine which and when cells should be seeded. This <br />study focused on the radar located in District II near Stanley, ND. A National Weather <br />Service WSR-88D Radar (KMBX) located in Minot, ND, was compared to the Stanley radar <br />to determine time lag between first echo detection between the Stanley radar and the more <br />sensitive WSR-88D radar. Only days that seeding took place in the summer of 1999 were <br />used in the comparison. Any new echo development that occurred within 150 km of both the <br />Stanley and Minot radar were candidates for comparison. A determination was made of the <br />time difference of first echo development between the KMBX radar and the Stanley C-band <br />radar. Evidence was found indicating that the KMBX radar detected echoes an average of 8 <br />minutes sooner or approximately one volume scan sooner than the Stanley C-band radar. <br />v <br />