China's artificially induced snow closes 12 highways

Reuters ^ | 19 Feb 2009 | Nick Macfie

[BGHater]

China closed 12 highways around the capital Beijing on Thursday because of heavy snow brought on after seeding clouds with chemicals, state media said on Thursday.

All outbound highways were closed in Hebei, the drought-hit northern province surrounding Beijing, after heavy snow fell on Wednesday night, Xinhua news agency said.

In all, 12 highways, including one linking Beijing and Shenyang, capital of northeastern Liaoning province, were closed.

Hebei got its first heavy snow of this year on Wednesday. The provincial weather bureau said that snow too was "enhanced" by artificial seeding.

"The snow has brought moisture to the soil, which may help end the drought," Guo Yingchun, a senior engineer of the provincial meteorological observatory, was quoted as saying.

She said that 313 cigarette-size sticks of silver iodide were fired into the clouds from Wednesday night to Thursday morning, "a procedure that made the snow a lot heavier."

Hebei forecasters said flurries would continue through Thursday night in the northern part of the province.

[BGHater]

'snow too was "enhanced" by artificial seeding'

[FlingWingFlyer]

It appears as though Red China has found the anwser to Algore’s “global warming.”

[Zuben Elgenubi]

China is facing a severe drought that threatens their entire wheat crop. If I were in the same position, I’d seed the clouds too.

[robomatik]

snowfall is beneficial to wheat production? :^)

[MyTwoCopperCoins]

Great. Next year, they’ll have a bumper crop of aluminum-laced grains [Aluminum powder and alum is what’s used to seed clouds, right?].

[patton]

The article says silver iodide.

[digger48]

snowfall is beneficial to wheat production? :^)

ground moisture.

[BGHater]

China isn’t afraid to kill people. Trial and error.

[knarf]

Hmmm .. perhaps it appears the tree has a plausably acceptable cover for the freezing during his announced, verified thus fact ... globull warming.

I love the Mobius strip.

[gimme1ibertee]

I often wondered why cloud seeding wasn’t used in locations suffering from prolonged,severe drought,such as many African countries. I’m not a big science buff,so I never understood why cloud seeding wasn’t more widely used. The article mentioned silver iodide....is that related to salt in some way? Sorry to be so dense...just curious.

[stormer]

Cloud seeding is only effective where there is significant moisture already present in the atmosphere. The halide crystals act as precipitation nuclei and promote condensation. In hyper-arid environments cloud seeding is ineffective.

[robomatik]

"ground moisture."

but, but, but, ice is kind've cold. :^)

i'm kidding around but, i must say that while the alaskan tundra retains a great deal of moisture, there aren't many palm trees growing in anchorage.

[Zuben Elgenubi]

AgI has a crystalline structure, similar to ice, that facilitates the formation of ice crystals in clouds which eventually produce precipitation if condidtions are right.

I would think the dry climate of Saharan countries would negate the formation of clouds in the first place, so no medium to make rain.

[gimme1ibertee]

Thanks for the explanation...It makes perfect sense! :)

[gimme1ibertee]

Right...no chicken,no chicken eggs...Thanks!

[stormer]

Zuben Eschamali

[mamelukesabre]

Ya gotta have a cloud, before you can seed it.

The only thing cloud seeding does, is make a cloud drop rain BEFORE it would naturally do so. So for example...

If the prevailing wind is west to east, and the people in colorado seed the clouds, then nebraska will get rain that was supposed to fall on iowa. In china, they didn’t create rain where there wasn’t any. They merely stole rain from somewhere and gave it to someone else.

[stormer]

And I should have written “...condensation nuclei and promotes precipitation...”.

[Zuben Elgenubi]

stormest