A chemical cloud-seeding company focused on manufacturing human-caused rainclouds has reportedly unleashed 19 million gallons of rainwater on the Kenai Peninsula.
Founded in 2023, Rainmaker Technology Corporation claims it produced the rain over three hours on Aug. 22-23.
A highly technical report from the California-based company says the deluge operation was the first of its kind by a private entity in Alaska.
The recent operation is part of Rainmaker’s larger goal of seeding clouds across the nation in an effort to manufacture more rain by using specialized drones, advanced radar and weather sensors.
To date, Rainmaker has operated in several Western states, including Utah, Idaho, Oregon, California, and Colorado. Earlier this year, it reported becoming the first private company to validate significant results from cloud seeding, estimating over 143–145 million gallons of additional water produced in cloud seeding over Utah and Oregon.
The technology behind cloud seeding involves using existing clouds and then employing drones to pump them with microscopic particles of silver iodide. These particles act like tiny “seeds” that encourage droplets to freeze into ice crystals, which then grow by collecting more moisture and eventually fall as snow or rain.
Rainmaker’s Alaska operation included releasing 19 silver iodide flares from two so-called “Elijah” drones in seven missions that dispersed about 374 grams of silver iodide at altitudes of about 11,500–14,100 feet.
Rainmaker then calculated that the operation produced a net increase of roughly 15–21 million gallons of additional water over three hours.
The company presented the findings as a successful proof-of-concept for its drone-based system.
While cloud-seeding technology has existed for nearly 80 years, Rainmaker intends to expand the practice to manipulate weather patterns across the U.S. This includes dumping water into the Colorado River and the Bear River Basin in order to increase flow into the Great Salt Lake in Utah.
Rainmaker founder and CEO Augustus Doricko boasted on X that his company is the first to “provably produce precipitation in Alaska.”
“In the future, Rainmaker will protect and restore glaciers with man-made snowfall,” he added.
Whether manmade rain and snow will sit well with the general public remains to be seen, as the technology has already stirred considerable controversy.
Rainmaker’s FAA petition for carrying cloud-seeding flares on drones remains in limbo, and the Air Line Pilots Association has warned that the Rainmaker technology poses “an extreme safety risk,” included airspace integration, flare debris/fire hazards, and lack of certain modeling.
Additionally, states like Florida and Tennessee have flat-out banned the practice of injecting clouds with chemicals aimed at manipulating temperature, weather, climate or sunlight. Violation of the law in Florida carries a third-degree felony charge that can result in up to 5 years in prison and fines up to $100,000.
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A 2024 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office raised concerns about possible environmental and health effects from cloud seeding.
“Existing research we reviewed, while limited to a handful of recent studies, suggests silver iodide does not pose an environmental or health concern at current levels,” the report stated. “However, it is not known whether more widespread use of silver iodide would have an effect on public health or the environment.”
On the federal level the Clear Skies Act, introduced last summer by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), seeks to ban “weather modification,” including the intentional injection, release, or dispersion of chemicals/substances into the atmosphere to alter weather, temperature, climate, or sunlight intensity. Violations would be treated as a felony.
27 Comments
Get these boys out to Tok to wait for some opportune clouds to seed! We could use about 19 million gallons on the fire out there!
Keep this crap out of Alaska’s atmosphere. Man messed with viruses and look where that took us. We don’t need man messing with our environment.
I’m sick of being told, that it’s ok, to dump man made shit on my property, that’s what you are doing! You didn’t ask me, how I felt about that. Dump it on your family, not mine!!!!
Sounds like a crock to me. Why waste resources producing rain where it’s not needed?
What a strange concept. They’re causing moisture to collect and fall. So, presumably, if it’s forced to fall in one place, it’s not collecting naturally and falling in another? Could you starve one place of rain (causing droughts) by causing the rain to fall in another place? Because really, you’re just manipulating the timing of a renewable resource, not actually providing more of it. Also, will we have to wait decades to “discover” the health effects of silver iodide falling from the sky?
Exactly. UAE and Saudi have been doing this for a while (they claim they are doing it themselves but I suspect US involvement). Claiming these desert area would like more rain to support growing populations (makes sense). However, causing the rain to fall earlier prevents the rain from falling in the mountains of Iran and Afghanistan. Iran, for the last few years has been in a drought. Food for thought.
Who gave them the permission or authority to do this?!
With all the BS one must endure to obtain and maintain a SWPPP permit during a construction project, I’d be really interested in who issued permits for this activity and the criteria considered (or ignored).
Who, by name, gave these people permission to play God? I would like some long term research regarding the safety of this silver falling from the sky over myself and my garden. Will this “cloud seeding” counteract the effects of Chem Trails being dumped on us daily?
Oh lord, now the “chemtrail” crazies are gonna be coming out in force.
Well Paul, yet again, the conspiracy theory “crazies” were right. Yet here you are with the factual evidence being provided to you and you still want to deny the warning that have been expressed for decades now.
Delusion seems to be the standard mindset of the sheep people, but that’s ok. Our reality only proves that suckers are born every minute. Thanks for being a testament to that.
Right about what?
Evan, you have demonstrated that you lack critical thinking skills, yet again. I shall lay it out plainly to you so you can easily understand. Our skies have been tampered with for decades by folks trying to control the weather using chemical dispersion. Only now it is being revealed on an official level. The “crazies” have been right about this all along, but folks like you jump to labeling them “conspiracy theorists.”
You owe your local conspiracy theorist an apology.
Time to wake up.
Is this what is causing the white film on my grass in South Anchorage? Like someone painted my back yard. Not happy. We don’t know if its safe for pets. Who authorized Rainmaker to do the cloud seeding in Alaska? I would like to see heads roll for this!!!
This has been the rainiest, coldest summer I can remember. Do we really need more rain?!! Who gave this company permission to seed clouds over Alaska? Didn’t we get enough moisture in the atmosphere from the eruption of Hunga Tonga? Stop playing God.
“Alaskan’s for global warming ”
We need more sun to grow crops to feed our animals.
Stop poisoning our planet!
Where is the outrage from the environmental groups ?
“Poisoning our planet”?! You’re worried about the potential of a few micrograms of silver iodine settling on your acreage while many Alaskans, most especially those involved in agricultural pursuits or homeowners seeking the perfect lawn, happily apply many pounds if not tons of fertilizers and pesticides onto their properties. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying fertilizers and pesticides are “bad” and should never be used, but have some sense of proportionality – micro-grams of silver iodine per acre versus many, many pounds of fertilizers and pesticides per acre. Let’s not forget that fertilizers and pesticides ultimately end up residing in our soils and groundwater (drinking water). So if you want to sound the alarm in regard to “poisoning” Alaska, do so with some sense of proportionality.
Did any of you actually read the report? You should. Heres an excerpt:
“Rainmaker plans to continue refinement of its cloud seeding platform in the upcoming winter season.”
So these folks apparently intend to dump additional snow on us this winter. Groovy.
Read and wonder how this was approved.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0147651316302342
Bummer. I was hoping the results of the referenced study would be more definitive. Thanks for the link.
Where is the State of Alaska on all this? Any oversight at all? How about just leaving the weather up to nature. We don’t need to be importing weather-altering Lower 48 experimentations up here.
Put Dunleavy in jail, ask questions later! This is outrageous! I have a right to what in this f dup state!
Dear Humanity,
No matter what we do, our life time here is temporary. Politicians selling you salvation to fix climate change will not work, so save your money. Religious gate keepers of god selling you salvation will not actually save your soul, so live virtuously and fully and make good with the Creator on your own. Go adventure. Live without fear. Try something new. Seek the mystery. Stop paying taxes to the Big Epstein Club that you aren’t a part of.
Government and spiritual authorities have no power over your own evolution of consciousness. The end is always nigh, so make the best of it while you can.
It’s about time somebody spoke up about this atrocity.
This Has been going on for over 50 years, I used to report to a whistleblower website to upload pictures when they sprayed in my area of So Cal. Playing God never ends well.
Thank you and God Bless!
Heaven forbid! I noticed chem trails yesterday when I was coming out of the Seward Pool and was shocked!!! We do not need anyone experimenting up here in Alaska with rain clouds. Let it be PLEASE!!! Alaska needs to make it a state ruling like Florida and a few other states have already done. NO MESSING WITH THE WEATHER OF ANT SORT!!!
Anyone else notice the whimpy fireweed this year? My piddly garden is struggling to produce one decent squash. I am sick and tired of the rain!! GO AWAY YOU DUMMIES!!
Alaskans are tired of being used as guinea pigs for your experiments.
Rainy days and Mondays always get me down!