About Weather Modification aka “Cloud Seeding”

Use and share this cloud seeding information to help inform your family, neighbors, and community leaders in Mountrail County and Williams County.

Weather modification, otherwise known as cloud seeding, has been attempted for over 50 years across the USA. There are different types of weather modification programs, but most are intended for precipitation enhancement or hail suppression. Mountrail County and Williams County has a warm-air convective cloud seeding program.

Does Weather Modification Work? Answer: NO

Claims of hail suppression and rain enhancement have been disproven by the largest study to date on weather modification, conducted by the National Resource Council in 2003 [1]. Their study reviewed all weather modification programs and data, including the studies used to support the ND programs. It concluded, “there is no scientifically credible evidence hail can be suppressed”. The study also stated that there is no evidence to support claims of rainfall increases from warm-air convective cloud seeding for precipitation enhancement. Furthermore, the American Meteorological Society stated in their platform, “Our understanding of hailstorms is not yet sufficient to allow confident prediction of the effects of seeding individual storms.” [2] 

Therefore, despite having among the longest running weather modification programs in the world, there is no concrete proof we have accomplished anything positive.

Is it Dangerous to Your Health? Answer: MAYBE

It might be, we really don’t know. Weather modification involves injecting silver iodide into clouds. No long term studies have ever been conducted on the environmental or human health impact of injecting the inorganic compound into every single precipitation event from June thru August in Mountrail County and Williams County.

What is the True Cost to MounTRail County & WILLIAMS COUNTY Taxpayers?

Only 4 out of a total 3,242 counties in the USA currently attempt to suppress hail — Mountrail County and Williams County are two of them. For decades, North Dakota state and county governments have spent millions of taxpayer money on convective cloud weather modification![3] We have been funding this program for over 40 years and have nothing to show for it except higher taxes and lower rainfall rates. In the past, 38 North Dakota counties conducted weather modification. Due to a lack of results, that number has dwindled to what it is today. If this program was as effective as it claims to be, it would be reasonable to assume that every county that receives hail would participate.

In fact, recently in 2020, voters in Ward County, NOrth Dakota, voted to abolish their weather modification program in a landslide vote of 85%.

Counties neighboring Ward County – namely Bottineau, McHenry and Renville had spent zero money on weather modification, yet have lower crop hail loss rates [4]. This completely contradicts the claims made by proponents.

The Weather Modification Authorities who run the program in North Dakota have no taxpayer oversight. Millions of dollars are entrusted to these boards who put special interests in front of  taxpayers, private property rights, our environment and human health. Meanwhile, our community seems to constantly face a need to improve infrastructure — including roads & schools. Instead, we have literally blown our money into the sky with no results.

Who Actually Benefits?

The only benefactor of this program is a company in Fargo – Weather Mod, Inc. Not only do they produce all of the materials used, but they are paid a base daily rate plus flight hours for 91 days.

About the November 5 2024 Ballot Measure

The November 5 General Election in North Dakota will include an option for Mountrail County and Williams County residents to approve or disapprove the current weather modification program. It will appear as County Measure #1. A YES vote will abolish the current weather modification program in each county. These tax dollars can instead be spent on much needed infrastructure like roads & schools, or perhaps reducing our tax burden. A NO vote would continue to waste our money on scientifically unproven programs. Please vote YES on County Measure 1 for Mountrail County and Williams County on November 5th!

How Should I Vote?

Well, if you live in Mountrail and Williams Counties, your ballot will include an option for County residents to abolish or continue the current weather modification program. It’s called County Measure 1.

You must vote Yes on Nov 5th, 2024 to abolish the weather modification programs. A ‘Yes’ vote will stop wasting millions of tax dollars for an unproven and expensive program.

A ‘Yes’ vote will stop wasting millions of tax dollars for an unproven and expensive program, rampant with special interest cronyism. We are asking that you vote YES to Abolish Weather Modification.

For more information on voting, please visit: https://www.sos.nd.gov/elections

CITED RESOURCES

1. (National Research Council. 2003. Critical Issues in Weather Modification Research. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.) source: https://www.nap.edu/read/10829/chapter/1
2. American Meteorological Society: “Our understanding of hailstorms is not yet sufficient to allow confident prediction of the effects of seeding individual storms.” 
   source: http://www.flame.org/~cdoswell/wxmod/AMS_Statement_II.html
   3. The State Water Commission matches 50% of the funds provided by local county taxpayers. source: https://www.co.ward.nd.us/276/Budgeting-Audit-Reports
3. (An Exploratory Analysis of Crop Hail Insurance Data for Evidence of Cloud Seeding Effects in North Dakota, Smith et. al, 1997) source: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/253841013_An_Exploratory_Analysis_of_Crop_Hail_Insurance_Data_for_Evidence_of_Cloud_Seeding_Effects_in_North_Dakota

This article reviewed multiple years of cloud seeding information as published by leading experts. 

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