Kevin Clyde’s mind is always in the clouds. As a water district board member in southeastern Utah, he’s constantly checking a patch of sky near the La Sal Mountains. He swears he’s seen more wisps of white near a new cloud seeding station in the area — one that, he hopes, has prompted more rain and snow in his region. … These stations aim to increase rain and snow by shooting charged ions into the sky, as opposed to the better-known method of shooting chemicals out of a plane. It’s a new approach to cloud seeding, aka weather modification, which dates back to the early 1900s and manipulates clouds to drop more precipitation. … But the ion stations have also sparked skepticism from some researchers, who say industry is too far ahead of the science. And it raises the question of whether unproven technologies are raising false hope for communities frantic for water.

Other drought impact and response news:

• The Water Desk (University of Colorado, Boulder): Blog: Climate change made the West’s snow drought far more likely—but it’s still not the new normal
• SFGate: Lake Mead reveals mountaintops hidden for decades as lake recedes
• Public Policy Institute of California: Testimony: Water availability and impacts on California’s agriculture
• Denver Water: Blog: How low will we go? Reservoir levels are dropping as customers use water​