Cloud seeding greenlit for area

The seeding of clouds to try to coax rain to fall on southeast New Mexico may begin as early as this week.

Gary Walker, owner and pilot with the Wichita Falls, Texas, based Seeding Operations and Atmospheric Research (SOAR), received his license from the Interstate Stream Commission through the state of New Mexico to do cloud seeding in Roosevelt, Curry, Quay, DeBaca, Chaves, Eddy and Lea counties.

Walker said May looks to be pretty dry, so the operation will begin with one airplane based out of Portales. Depending on what the June forecast looks like, Walker may bring in SOAR's second airplane possibly to be based out of Hobbs.

SOAR employs a meteorologist who makes a forecast daily, who pores over data, does research and uses a weather radar totally unlike any used for television meteorologists, Walker said.

"Our meteorologist is very interactive with our pilot," Walker said. "When the meteorologist sees cloud development that is suitable for seeding our pilot takes off. Not all clouds are suitable for seeding."

Depending on the temperature of the cloud, one of two kinds of chemicals are used, according to Walker: Silver iodide or calcium chloride.

If the cloud temperature is in the -5 to -10 degrees Celsius range (23 to 14 degrees, Fahrenheit) a silver iodide flare is released. Under a microscope, according to Walker, silver iodide particles have the characteristics of an ice crystal.

If the cloud is warmer calcium chloride flares are used.

The work Walker and his company engage in is called "weather modification" or "weather mod."

"There's a lot of weather mod that goes on around the world," Walker said. "I myself have flown in India, Turkey, Puerto Rico, Mexico and many states here in the U.S. Saudi Arabia has just started a 5 year, $150 million program."

Weather mod activity includes not only cloud seeding for rain, but also for snow and for hail suppression.

Walker said SOAR's contract is with the Roosevelt County Soil and Water Conservation District. The license to operate allows Walker to operate anywhere in the seven-county area.

"If we seed clouds to produce rain that's just part of a good water program," Walker said.

"The science behind this is phenomenal," Mike Cone said. Cone is president of the board for the Roosevelt County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Cone said seeding is not a fix-all nor will it end the drought.

Cone said the county had a regular cloud seeding program that ran from the late 1990s to the early 2000s and cloud seeding was done for Roosevelt County as recently as June 2021.

"We have secured a larger pile of money and we're trying to get this thing started again," Cone said.

Shane Lee, chairman of the Roosevelt County Commission, said he's "a little skeptical."

"I'd love to see it work, I really would," Lee said. "But Mother Nature is kind of hard to manipulate."