Idaho’s escalating water shortage has prompted state officials to expand their cloud seeding operations, approving a second aircraft for the Upper Snake River Basin to bolster water supply across a critical agricultural and energy region facing historic drought conditions.
The Idaho Water Resource Board greenlit the expansion on August 5, authorizing the purchase of an additional plane and the hiring of a meteorologist at a cost of $968,000. The move marks a significant step in the state’s decade-old effort to squeeze every possible drop from the atmosphere during the wet season, as Upper Snake reservoirs sit at just 31 percent capacity and water managers drain supplies at a rate of 24,000 acre-feet per day.
Expanding Coverage During Crisis
The Idaho Collaborative Cloud Seeding Program, which operates annually from November through April, currently relies on a single aircraft to seed clouds across the Upper Snake region. That lone plane reaches approximately 60 percent of storms suitable for seeding. Adding a second aircraft will nearly double the program’s effectiveness, potentially covering an estimated 90 percent of seedable storms in the basin.
Wesley Hipke, a key figure in the cloud seeding initiative, explained the mathematical advantage: “One aircraft can hit about 60% of seedable storms. A second aircraft increases coverage to an estimated 90% of seedable storms.” The expansion represents a 30 percent increase in the program’s cloud-seeding capacity for the region, as first reported by the EastIdahoNews.com.
Cloud seeding itself—a process that uses silver iodide dispersed from aircraft and ground generators to encourage precipitation—can increase rainfall by 5 to 10 percent. While that may sound modest, water officials stress that in severe drought years, even marginal gains matter significantly.
“A small amount (of water obtained through cloud seeding) makes a big difference in the really low water supply years,” Hipke told the board, underscoring why officials are willing to invest substantial sums in the technology during Idaho’s current crisis, as first reported by the EastIdahoNews.com.
Ground Infrastructure and Regional Network
The aircraft expansion complements an extensive ground-based seeding infrastructure already in place across Idaho. The state operates 57 ground generators statewide, with 25 of those positioned in eastern Idaho. Additionally, seven liquid propane generators function in the Central Mountains, providing year-round seeding capability when conditions permit.
The board is coordinating with Idaho Power to secure the second aircraft before the November start of the seeding season, ensuring the expanded operation is ready for the winter months when clouds are most productive.
Idaho’s cloud seeding efforts rank among the nation’s most established. The state’s current collaborative program, launched in 2015, represents the fourth-longest continuously running cloud seeding initiative in the country. Private operations began much earlier—Let It Snow, LLC commenced seeding in 1997, while Idaho Power initiated its own efforts in the Payette River Basin in 2003 and expanded to the Upper Snake Basin in 2008.
Interstate Cooperation and Pilot Programs
Beyond its own aircraft and ground infrastructure, Idaho is deepening regional cooperation on water augmentation. The state has partnered with Utah on cloud seeding in the Bear River Basin, where a pilot program using drones supplements traditional methods. The Idaho Water Resource Board contributed $950,000 to Utah’s initial $3.5 million pilot project in 2025 and has committed an additional $1.2 million to continue the program in its second year.
These partnerships reflect growing recognition across the West that intensifying drought conditions require aggressive, multi-faceted responses. Water agencies are no longer content to rely solely on precipitation patterns shaped by natural atmospheric dynamics.
What Comes Next
The board aims to finalize the aircraft purchase and hire the required meteorologist before November, when the 2026-2027 seeding season begins. If acquisition moves on schedule, the expanded operation will be fully operational during what forecasters expect will be another challenging winter for water availability. The board will monitor storm activity and seeding effectiveness throughout the season and evaluate whether the 30 percent capacity increase translates into measurable gains in reservoir levels by spring runoff. Success with the Upper Snake expansion could also prompt consideration of similar additions to other basins across the state.
The water crisis affecting Idaho has triggered emergency measures across multiple fronts—from heat advisories impacting agricultural regions to infrastructure challenges exacerbated by severe weather patterns. Cloud seeding represents one tactical response among several that state and federal water managers are pursuing to sustain Idaho’s farms, power generation, and communities.