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<br />FINAL OPERATIONAL SEEDING SLt1MARY REPORT <br />f or the <br />CENTRAL COLORADO MOUNTAINS <br />WEATHER MODIFICATION PROGRAM <br /> <br />On August 21, 1985, WESTERN WEATHER CONSULTANTS, INC submitted an <br />application to the Colorado Department of Natural Resources for a permit <br />to augment natural winter precipitation in the Central Colorado mountains. <br />The seeding areas requested for the operational 1985-86 Winter Snow pack <br />Augmentation Program were the drainages around the Vail and Beaver <br />Creek ski areas. This application was discussed at a public meeting held <br />September 27, 1985 before David H. Getches, Executive Director, and <br />Barbara Welles, Weather Modification Program Director, Colorado <br />Department of Natural Resources, in Vail, Colorado. WESTERN WEATHER <br />CONSUL T ANTS, INC. was represented by Lawrence M. H jermstad, President. <br /> <br />WESTERN WEATHER CONSUL T ANTS, INC. received a Weather Modification <br />Permit for the drainages around the ski areas granted effective November <br />1, 1985, and in force until March 31, 1986. One of the stipulations of the <br />permit was that no generator should be operated under conditions when the <br />plume might be expected to reach Leadville, Colorado; other stipulations <br />related to seeded area boundaries, generator sites, the selection of <br />weather systems suitable for seeding, and program suspension criteria. <br /> <br />The program was operationally ready by November I, 1985, with eight <br />ground-based cloud nuclei generators in place to seed the Vail and Beaver <br />Creek ski areas. All of the generators were manually operated and utilized <br />silver iodide as the nucleating agent. <br /> <br />The first seeding for the 1985-86 winter season was initiated on <br />November 5th followed by a second event on November 9th. By November <br />18th the snow pack from these events and several other non-seedab Ie <br />events had raised the snowpack in excess of the operational criteria; <br />seeding operations were suspended. Heavy snowfalls continued into early <br />December extending the suspension period until December 20th. One <br />seeding event occurred on the last two days of December. <br /> <br />During ,January, 1986, there were seven seeding operations over portions <br />of ten calendar days. At the end of ,January, 1986, snowPilck readings on <br />Vail mountain were measured from the Snotel to be at lOST, of normal and <br />110% of normal snow pack was observed at Shrine Pass. <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />".;-"- <br />~ <br />