New technology aims to boost Nevada snowfall without traditional cloud seeding
New technology aims to boost Nevada snowfall without traditional cloud seeding
Publish Date: 2026-05-20 15:45:00
Source Domain: mynews4.com
As Nevada continues to grapple with drought concerns and increasing demand on its water resources, a company is promoting a new weather-modification technology it says can increase precipitation without the use of aircraft or chemical agents.
Rain Enhancement Technologies (RET) is exploring the possibility of bringing its system to Nevada after conducting projects in Utah. Unlike traditional cloud seeding, which disperses silver iodide particles into storm clouds to encourage precipitation, RET’s technology relies on electrically charged negative ions.
The company says its ground-based units release negative ions into naturally occurring wind currents. As those ions move into clouds, they are designed to increase water droplets to combine and grow larger, potentially increasing rain and snowfall.
According to RET, recent studies conducted in Utah found precipitation increases of more than 20 percent during testing periods. The company says the technology can be activated only when favorable weather conditions are present and shut down if forecasts change.
“If there’s some crazy storm coming through, what we would do is shut the unit off,” said RET CEO Randy Seidl. “Then we wouldn’t be able to make what would otherwise be a bad situation worse.”
Seidl said the technology is intended to complement, existing cloud-seeding programs already operating throughout the West.
One of the company’s primary selling points is the absence of chemical additives. Traditional cloud-seeding programs commonly use silver iodide to encourage ice crystal formation inside clouds. RET says its ionization approach eliminates concerns some critics have raised about introducing substances into the atmosphere.
The company is currently evaluating opportunities in Nevada and hopes to have more information by the end of the year regarding potential implementation in the state.
With Nevada’s water supply closely tied to winter snowpack and mountain precipitation, state and local officials…
