A new, experimental weather enhancement pilot program is slated to begin this winter in Northwest Colorado, aiming to increase snowpack and rainfall across approximately 200,000 acres of the Flat Tops, an area crucial to the Yampa River headwaters. The Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District will lead the one-year pilot, utilizing a ground-based, solar-powered technology from Rain Enhancement Technologies.
This initiative comes as Colorado continues to face significant drought conditions, marked by last year's record-low snowpack, high temperatures, and historically diminished streamflows, particularly in the state’s northwest corner. Andy Rossi, general manager for the Upper Yampa district, described the technology as "brand new and experimental," noting that "as we move into drier and drier times, folks like us, we’ve got to keep trying new things."
Funded by a $100,000 grant from the Colorado Water Conservation Board, the program marks Colorado’s ninth permitted weather modification project. It will join existing cloud-seeding efforts near ski resorts like Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, and Winter Park, as well as a project in the San Juan Mountains and one in Weld County.
Installation and storm enhancement are planned to begin in November. The Upper Yampa installation will be located at Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s State Wildlife Area near Lake Avery. The site selection was strategic, according to Rossi, chosen for its ability to "very specific about the area we were trying to influence" to enhance water supply for reservoirs and headwaters snowpack. Scott Morris, vice president of engineering at Rain Enhancement Technologies, noted that the site offers a chance to benefit Lake Avery and the surrounding wilderness areas, expecting more rainfall and snowpack for forests and wildlife.
Rossi also emphasized that the site was carefully selected to avoid increasing moisture and precipitation on the burn scars from the Elk and Lee fires, which occurred outside of Meeker in 2025. He stated, "That landscape needs some time to heal, and we wanted to be sure we weren’t creating an unintended consequence there that would be negative to that landscape."
Unlike "typical" cloud-seeding, which injects particles like silver iodide, this new ground-based technology uses ionization. Rain Enhancement Technologies calls its system the Weather Enhancement Technology Array. Rossi described the installation as being about 30 feet wide and 20 feet long, resembling a ranch gate with a large frame and an electrified coil. It runs entirely on solar power.
According to the pilot’s statement of work, each station releases electrically charged negative ions into naturally occurring wind flow, providing "fuel" to cultivate precipitation in clouds. These charges enter the cloud mass, enhancing condensation and causing cloud droplets to progressively grow until they are heavy enough to fall. Meteorologists and technicians from Rain Enhancement Technologies will remotely track storms, activating the apparatus when a storm is heading in the right direction and has the right predicted moisture content.
Reports from a test of the technology outside Moab, Utah, indicated an over 20% increase in snow-water equivalent. This compares to traditional cloud-seeding systems, which Colorado’s weather modification program manager, Andrew Rickert, said can increase a storm’s snowfall by roughly 8-12% when generators are active.
The Flat Tops are critical to the region's water supply. The Yampa River, fed by its headwaters in the Flat Tops, flows into Stagecoach Reservoir before meandering west to merge with the Green River and eventually the Colorado River. The White River also originates in the Flat Tops. Combined, these two rivers can comprise 10-15% of the flow at Lee Ferry, downstream of Lake Powell. Rossi highlighted that "without snow, this whole system doesn’t really work," and the pilot's goal is to "hopefully create a little bit more bang for a buck out of each storm track that comes through, both rain and snow."
Rossi noted that the Flat Tops, particularly the highest parts of the Yampa headwaters, have shown a higher degree of warming and snowpack modification over the past decade. He indicated the pilot targets an area that "needs the most help." The state has guidelines to ensure safety, including shutting down the project if snowpack becomes too high or during "very volatile storm tracks" with potential for intense rainfall and flash flooding. Rossi emphasized a "component of safety that is offering a nice check valve on how much we try to influence the moisture."
Throughout the year-long pilot, the district will track the technology's effectiveness to determine if there is a "quantifiable positive impact" on both rain and snow precipitation. Rossi views this as an excellent opportunity to explore new methods in response to drought and build resiliency, adding, "This is something that I think we’re gonna need to keep searching for solutions to."
