Laserfiche WebLink
<br />OJ3496 <br /> <br />is not significant statistically. This somewhat surpnsl.ng result has a <br />plausible explanation: even though storms are fewer during dry winters, <br />those that do occur are warmer and therefore more likely to be seedable. <br /> <br />Increases in the water content of seasonal snowfall expected in 12 <br />drainage basins in four mountainous sub-regions of Colorado if each <br />eligible storm is seeded range from 2.5 to 8.2 percent. 1'hese increases <br />are probably conservative because soma seedable storms may not have been <br />detected. Percentage increases are not related to the wetness or dryness <br />of the winter in any of the basins examined. <br /> <br />Although calculating how much additional water' seeding could produce <br />each winter is difficult, we estimate increases that range from .2 'to 4.4 <br />inches, each inch of water equivalent to five to 20 inches of unpacked <br />snow. 'lhese estimates, valid only at actual snowcourse sites, may not <br />represent increases elsewhere in each basin. <br /> <br />Results of this study indicate that seeding offers comparable <br />percentage increases in mountain snowpack in moderately dry, normal and <br />wet winters. While the absolute increase in snow expected from seeding <br />may be lower in dry winters than in wet ones, its value to the state's <br />water-users in dry winters may be substantial. <br /> <br />37 <br />