John_Krasting's Blog

A large brick of cement fell through the roof of a house in Naro-Fominsk, Russia, creating a hole approximately three feet in diameter.

Ironically, the cement was part of a program instituted by the Russian Air Force to create good weather on holidays near the nation’s capital.  A dozen planes were dispatched to drop silver iodide, liquid nitrogen, and cement powder into the clouds.  The project aimed to promote rainfall that would dry the atmosphere prior to important dates.

Weather modification is nothing new.  Many programs to increase rainfall or reduce the size of hailstones are in place here in the United States.  Most of these programs are centered in the Midwest and Desert Southwest where water availability is a concern.

There is some debate, however, around the effectiveness of such programs.  One of the most famous weather modification programs carried out by the United States was Project Stormfury, which ran from 1962 to 1983.  During this time, hurricanes were seeded with silver iodide in an effort to reduce the strength of storms that were close to making landfall.  The program was discontinued in the 1980’s, as there was little evidence to determine if the program had any real impact on the strength of the storms.

What is your thought?  Should we continue to investigate ways to control when it rains?  How would you react to a three–foot brick of cement in your roof?

MORE on the Russian weather modification accident

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MORE on Project Stormfury