• The weather-modifying equipment used by Rain Enhancement Technologies in UtahRain Enhancement Technologies The weather-modifying equipment used by Rain Enhancement Technologies in Utah Rain Enhancement Technologies States like Utah in the western US have been suffering from a record snow drought, raising fears of wildfires and low flow in the crucial Colorado river. • But a start-up that releases negatively charged aerosols that can be carried up into clouds claims it has increased snowfall by 20 per cent in one Utah mountain range. • Rain Enhancement Technologies compared snowfall in the La Sal mountains and the Abajo mountains 70 kilometres to the south during five recent dry winters. • When the company was operating its high-voltage ionising array upwind of the La Sal mountains in January, the range received 9 centimetres more snow than would have been expected given the amount of snow the Abajo mountains got, the company says. • Read moreExclusive: Climate scientists expect attempts to dim the sun by 2100 Read more Exclusive: Climate scientists expect attempts to dim the sun by 2100 But scientists caution that these results could have occurred by chance and it is too early to tell how well the technique works. • “Cloud-seeding operations have been active for quite some time and we are offering another means of enhancing precipitation… but one which doesn’t involve any chemicals,” says the company’s meteorologistJeff Chagnon.“We also don’t have to fly into clouds… We can just flip a switch from anywhere in the world and operate for about 48 hours at a time.” The United Nations warns that the world isentering an era of “water bankruptcy”, with up to 3 in 4 people facing water scarcity or contamination.

Article Summaries:

  • Rain Enhancement Technologies, a Utah‑based start‑up, claims its high‑voltage ionising array increased snowfall by 20 % in the La Sal Mountains during five recent dry winters. The company compared snow totals with the nearby Abajo range, noting 9 cm more precipitation when its 100 kV system was active upwind. The technology charges aerosols, supposedly accelerating droplet coalescence in existing clouds. Scientists warn the results could be coincidental and that the method’s effectiveness remains unproven. The claim comes amid a broader U.S. snow drought, heightened wildfire risk, and ongoing debate over chemical versus non‑chemical cloud‑seeding techniques.

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