WMOD00043

• Contract/Permit #: Denied
• Applicant: Western Kansas Groundwater
• Project Name: Kansas Weather Modification
• Title: Denied
• Date: 1/1/1996
• Weather Modification - Doc Type: Proof of Public Notice

evenmuGh greater, more widespread crop and property destruction
may have been averted in this case, especially for the southern
half of Lane county. '

JULY Bth - OPERATIONAL DAY #40: A cold front pushed southward
through Southwest ~ansas during the day. By late afternoon, new
storms were building along its boundary, or along an older outflow
boundary, well to the south of the target area in the Texas and
Oklahoma panhandles. At 5:55 p.m. three cloud base planes were
scrambled to meet an advancing line of severe storms south of the
Hitch Ranch in the Oklahoma Panhandle. The other two aircraft were
moved to Johnson to standby as a precaution. The cloud top plane,
on standby, was scrambled at 6:5B p.m. still without a working on-
board radar system.

Two planes be~mn seeding over the, Hit.,,;\:), R:"-!lch "area at 6:.36
p,m., the third at 6:42 p.m. Seeding in support of the Hitch Ranch
ended at 7:03 p.m. as the line of storms, then oriented WNW-ESE,
moved north of it. At 7:02 p.m. the two standby planes from Johnson
were scrambled to assist seeding along the line which was moving
toward Stevens County. Initially, when seeding ended for the Ranch,
one plane continued seeding for hail while the other two went to
refuel and resupply. However, the two planes were diverted back to
the line and began seeding it for hail at 7:12 p.m. The last two
planes also were seeding east-west along the line at 7: 26 p.m.,
working with the other three just south of Stevens County. The
cloud top plane began on the eastern end of the line at 7:58 p.m.

The most intenSe part of the line lay in southeastern stevens
and southwestern Seward counties. Seeding concentrated in the
Stevens area since individual storm movements were northeasterly,
By 8:27 p.m., since both radar intensities and updrafts along the
line over Stevens county were lower, two cloud base planes were
sent back to base-;- Three base seeders plus the cloud top 'plane
continued seeding in northern Seward County as that part of the
line moved toward Haskell and Gray counties. Seeding continued
aouth of Haskell and Gray until B:55 p.m. at which time new storms
built above a gust front in Stanton County which had pushed in to
thenorthw'est'earlierf:rom the 'older .'line of storms which moved
north from the Panhandle. The base planes were flew toward Manter
leaving the cloud top plane to seed the remaining storms in
southern Haskell which had become much weaker, The cloud top plane
ended seeding in Haskell at 9:21 p.m. before returning to base.

Seeding in Stanton was mixed. Few updrafts of significance
could be found. At 9:02 p.m. one plane was scrambled from Johnson
while another flight endeo, being short of fuel and seeding agent.
At 9:16 p.m. the three remaining base planes flying were sent back
to their bases.

By 11 p.m. the old gust front earlier pushing its boundary
northward from the panhandle began triggering more storm6 into life
along an arc-shaped line from near Coolidge to about 10 north of
Deerfield to near Cimarron---the most severe part being near Garden