by Robert Marcos, photojournalist
Utah has been described as America’s second-driest state after Nevada. But besides prayer Utah’s state government seems far less imaginative than Arizona’s, (America’s third driest state), in their effort to find new sources of water for their thirsty residents. Well, umm…actually there’s one exception: Cloud seeding.
Utah’s cloud seeding program began in the early 1950s with initial winter experiments aimed at boosting snowfall in mountainous regions to enhance water supplies. These early efforts were part of broader U.S. weather modification initiatives following World War II discoveries about silver iodide’s role in nucleating ice crystals in supercooled clouds. By the 1970s, amid severe droughts in central and southern Utah, counties collaborated with the state to formalize operations, leading to the Cloud Seeding Act of 1973. This legislation empowered the Utah Division of Water Resources to regulate and fund programs, with North American Weather Consultants often handling implementation using ground-based silver iodide generators.1
The program’s foundational design targeted winter storms from November to April, releasing silver iodide particles from foothill and high-elevation sites to stimulate precipitation in key watersheds like the Uinta Mountains and central Utah ranges. Early operations in the 1973-74 season involved manual generators, with state funding starting in 1975-76 to match local contributions from participating counties such as Beaver and Sanpete. Evaluations drew from prior research, hypothesizing that seeding supercooled clouds would increase snowpack for spring runoff, and the program paused only briefly during non-drought periods but resumed consistently.2
Over decades, Utah expanded its efforts with partnerships like the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, supporting targeted areas including the West Uintas and Emery programs, while annual legislative appropriations—around $300,000 by 2021—ensured continuity. Aerial seeding with aircraft supplemented ground units in the late 1970s and 1980s, but ground-based methods proved more reliable and cost-effective. By the 2020s, amid ongoing water scarcity, the state ramped up investments, reflecting confidence in 5-15% snowfall increases backed by long-term data collection.3
Recent advancements have modernized the program into the world’s largest remote-controlled network, with 190 automated generators deployed statewide by 2025 for safer, faster activation during storms. Funding surged to nearly $16 million in 2025, enabling drone-based seeding pilots in challenging terrains like the La Sal Mountains, replacing prior airplane tests for precise cloud penetration. These innovations, overseen for environmental safety, align with Utah’s water policy to combat the impact of droughts for both agricultural and urban users.4