WMOD00390

• Title: A Proposed Wintertime Weather Modification Research Program for Colorado
• Date: 1/1/1980
• State: CO
• Weather Modification - Doc Type: Report

publicized and the majority of the people in this region should
be somewhat familiar with the concept of winter cloud seeding.
This region also comprises the headwater region for six of
Colorado's major rivers or tributaries. Some other favorable
situations in this region are as follows:
(1) Nearly all towns and villages are located in the
valleys and very few residents live up in the seeded

area.
(2) There are more than a dozen high mountain passes t:hat
are maintained year-round that can provide precipita-
tion profiles across these mountains for various ~lind
direction orientations.
(3) There are many ski areas in this region where additional
high and medium elevation precipitation and meteorolog-
ical data can be obtained at relatively little cost.
(4) The large number of high elevation highways crossing
this region can provide important and representative
cost data on the maintenance of roadways under various
winter snow conditions.
(5) There are sufficient numbers of large game herds near
the seeded areas to provide needed information on big
game calving, migration and feeding habits with respect
to snowpack and time of winter.
Several other considerations were made in determining the
primary seeding area for this program. First, the Water and
Power Resources Service is developing a preliminary plan for a
possible large-scale and long-term, intensive research program
for the San Juan Mountains and may begin in one to two years.
The first phase of this program will be intensive field studies
to better understand the climatological influences of the San Juan
region. The second phase will probably involve randomized seeding
of selected cloud systems to further verify the proper identi-
fication and seedability of suitable cloud systems. Since this
research area is likely to be near or part of Satellite Area No. 1
to the southwest, it is possible that in a short time some of the
water needs of the entities supporting 'seeding in this western

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