WMOD00317 ‎(2)‎

• Title: A Comparison of the Potential of Cloud Seeding to Enhance Mountain Snowpack in Colorado During Dry, Normal and Wet Winters
• Date: 1/1/1983
• State: CO
• Weather Modification - Doc Type: Report

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The rawinsonde data do not allow identification of storms by basin,
so storms are assLnTled to impact the entire mountainous region of Colorado
simultaneously. The effect of this assumption is not known~ it is
assessed, however, as are our o1:her assumptions, in a later section.

Seeding opportunities during dry, normal and wet winters can be
assessed best by grouping the l2 basins by sub-regions of the state that
are "homogeneous" in terms of latitude and the orientation of each basin to
the prevailing wind. The sub-rE~ions chosen and the basins within them are:

South: Dolores, Uncompaghre, Piedra, San Juan and Rio Grande

North: White and Yarnpa

East Central: La Garita, South Platte and Arkansas

West Central: Gunnison and Eagle

Analysis of seeding opportunity was conducted by sub-regions.
Sub-regions were combined for moutain-wide results.

Selection of Snowcourses

Snowcourse water content measurements were used to identify dry,
normal and wet winters and to validate the use of interpolated soundings.
MaxirnLnTI spring readings--usually April l--were used. Twenty-four courses
situated in or near the 12 basins were selected with the help of Bernie
Shafer of the Soil Conservation Service Snow Survey Unit. The courses
selected, which are listed in Table 1 and depicted on Figure 2, are at
relatively high altitudes and have lengthy periods of record.

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