The Beaverhead Range emerged as a strong candidate for wintry cloud seeding.
The Anaconda Range was close behind. The Pioneers came in third.
The Beaverheads’ candidacy is due, in part, to a typically higher amount of precipitation in winter and the presence of “supercooled liquid water at appropriate temperatures for silver iodide to nucleate ice.”
Clouds loom over the Beaverhead Mountains Tuesday. A feasibility study examining the potential for cloud seeding to boost snowpack in the Big Hole Watershed found that the Beaverheads showed promise for both airborne and ground-generated cloud seeding.
Joseph Scheller/The Montana Standard
As envisioned, cloud seeding in the rugged range on the Montana/Idaho border could boost snowpack and runoff for the beleaguered Big Hole River.
“Based upon the overall supercooled liquid water and wind direction frequencies, the Beaverhead Mountains should be a primary