The American West is facing a severe water crisis. Years of drought, exacerbated by climate change, have pushed states like Utah to the brink, with wildfires looming and the Colorado River dwindling. Now, a startup called Rain Enhancement Technologies (RET) is making bold claims: it can increase snowfall by as much as 20% using a novel method of cloud ionization.
The Science Behind the Claim
RET doesn’t rely on traditional cloud seeding, which involves dispersing chemicals like silver iodide into the atmosphere. Instead, the company uses high-voltage electricity to charge aerosols—tiny particles like dust or soot—before they drift into clouds. The idea is that these charged particles accelerate the process of droplet formation, making rainfall or snowfall more likely.
This isn’t a new concept. Cold War-era experiments hinted that electric charge can enlarge cloud droplets, and a 2020 study even found a 24% increase in rain over the Shetland Islands on days with heightened atmospheric ionization from nuclear bomb tests. RET claims their pilot trials in Oman from 2013 to 2018 increased rainfall by 10–14%, and similar experiments in China suggest a 20% precipitation boost.
The Utah Experiment
In Utah, RET compared snowfall in the La Sal mountains with that of the Abajo mountains, 70 kilometers away, during five recent dry winters. The company says when their system was active, the La Sal range received 9 centimeters more snow than expected. This is where skepticism arises.
Why the Results Are Still Unclear
Scientists caution that this difference could easily be due to random chance. Weather is highly variable, and proving a direct link between ionization and snowfall requires years of rigorous data. Edward Gryspeerdt at Imperial College London notes, “Because precipitation is incredibly variable, there is always a significant chance that the effect they’ve seen has just happened by chance.”
Jeff French at the University of Wyoming adds that five years of data might not be enough to establish a reliable baseline. Ibrahim Oroud at Mutah University in Jordan agrees, advocating for more long-term studies.
The Bigger Picture: A World Thirsty for Solutions
The stakes are high. The United Nations warns of a coming “water bankruptcy,” with billions facing scarcity or contamination. Countries like Iran have turned to cloud seeding to induce rain, while nine US states already have such programs. But the public distrusts these methods, with concerns about the health effects of chemicals and the spread of conspiracy theories. RET positions itself as a cleaner alternative, avoiding chemical dispersal altogether.
Yet, even RET admits its technology can only enhance existing cloud formation, not create clouds out of thin air.
Ultimately, while Rain Enhancement Technologies’ claims are intriguing, they remain unproven. More research is needed before we can say whether electricity can reliably solve the world’s growing water crisis.
