Lake Texoma benefits from the rain that falls in a huge watershed area, extending as far north as Ardmore OK and as far west as Wichita Falls TX.
The word watershed is sometimes referred to as a drainage basin or a catchment. Did you know that cloud seeding goes on in our watershed area?
Some efforts take place on the ground, but most cloud seeding has been accomplished by plane, and by the use of silver iodide flares. When the silver iodide, or other foreign substance is introduced into the atmosphere, moisture in the air condenses around the particles and forms ice crystals, which turn into hail and rain.
Officials at Seeding Operations and Atmospheric Research (SOAR) reported they were able to seed twice on Wednesday April 15th, at noon and again about 5:00 pm. SOAR official, Gary Walker said that last year's cloud-seeding project helped raise lake levels by an average of 4%, so they expect success this year as well.
"We have a much better soil profile this year, more moisture than we did last year. So, any time we get rain we're going to likely be able to get a runoff much quicker into the reservoirs," Walker stated.
Cloud seeding has been practiced in the United States since the 1940s, and it has attracted both proponents and detractors.
Many people believe the potential harm outweighs the small percentage of increase in rainfall that may be achieved.
And the possibility of damaging hail is another serious concern.
Do you have an opinion on the subject of cloud seeding? Post your thoughts below.
