WEATHER MODIFICATION

NY Times: Can Rain Be Bought? Experts Seed Clouds and Seek Answers

With a severe drought parching Colorado and much of the American West in recent years, Denver's water department decided to take a gamble in the hope of squeezing more precipitation out of the atmosphere. It has invested more than $1 million in cloud seeding in the last two years.

Has it paid off? Possibly, some research suggests.

The most recent report, issued yesterday by the National Research Council, is inconclusive. "Evaluation methodologies vary but in general do not provide convincing scientific evidence for either success or failure," says the report, titled "Critical Issues in Weather Modification Research."