Southern California Tries Cloud Seeding For First Time Since 2002
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Clouds over Los Angeles County were seeded with silver iodide to try to increase the amount of rainfall during Monday's storm.
City News Service reported Tuesday that the effort was the first cloud seeding by the Department of Public Works since 2002.
As California's drought worsened, county officials last October approved a one-year contract with North American Weather Consultants.
The Utah-based company has land-based generators in 10 locations between Sylmar and Pacoima. Only some of those generators were used this week, as weather conditions were not ideal in all areas.
Cloud seeding involves spraying fine particles of silver iodide into a cloud system in an effort to boost the amount of rain that falls. The county estimates that seeded clouds produce about 15 percent more rainfall.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.