84 JOURNAL OF WEATHER MODIFICATION VOLUME 43

OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS ON THE CLOUD MODIFICATION PROJECT

Mark D. Schneider* and Darin W. Langerud North Dakota Atmospheric Resource Board, Bismarck, North Dakota

Abstract:7KH1RUWK'DNRWD&ORXG0RGL¿FDWLRQ3URMHFW 1'&03 KDVEHQH¿WHGVLJQL¿FDQWO\ from improvements in technology and upgrades in equipment over its 35-year history. NDCMP meteorologists and pilots, some with three to six years of experience, are working more effectively with new resources and tools such as upgraded technologies, higher performance aircraft, and Internet nowcasting products. The results are greatly improved response times between aircraft launch and on-station seeding and more precise targeting of seeding opportunities on the NDCMP.

1. INTRODUCTION of electronic recordkeeping (2003), improved Inter- net-based weather products for operational now- Cloud seeding for hail suppression and rain en- casting at NDCMP remote radar sites, and the use hancement has been conducted in some fashion of higher performance aircraft, including a Piper in North Dakota since 1951. Langerud and Moen Cheyenne II (2010). (1998) most recently described the history of the program and methodologies used for rain enhance- Figure 1 shows the NDCMP target area, including ment and hail suppression in western North Dakota radar and aircraft locations where operations are during the growing season. Since then, many bene- conducted annually from June 1 to August 31. The ¿FLDOXSJUDGHVDQGDGYDQFHPHQWVWR1RUWK'DNRWD NDCMP has two operational districts, District I in &ORXG 0RGL¿FDWLRQ 3URMHFW 1'&03  RSHUDWLRQDO the southwest and District II in the northwest. equipment have occurred. These improvements include the upgrade of two Enterprise Electronics The NDCMP encompasses 27,001 km2 (10,425 WSR-74C Weather (2009-10), the advent mi2), approximately 15 percent of the area of the

)LJXUH1'&03WDUJHWDUHDVUDGDUVLWHVDQGDLUFUDIWORFDWLRQV &RUUHVSRQGLQJDXWKRUDGGUHVV Mark D. Schneider, North Dakota Atmospheric Resource Board, 900 E. Blvd. Ave. Dept. 770, Bismarck, ND 58505-0850; e-mail: [email protected]; phone 1-701-328-2788; fax 1-701-328-4749.

- TECHNICAL NOTES - CORRESPONDENCE - BOOK REVIEW APRIL 2011 SCHNEIDER AND LANGERUD 85 state. Agriculture is a large part of the economy Funding for the program is currently provided by of western North Dakota and a recent economic state general funds. HYDOXDWLRQ E\ %DQJVXQG DQG /HLVWULW]   LQ- In 1996, the NDCMP Internship Pro- GLFDWHV WKH 1'&03 SURYLGHV VLJQL¿FDQW EHQH¿W gram was established, providing hands-on learning WR WKH DJULFXOWXUDO VHFWRU7KH VWXG\ DQDO\]HG WKH opportunities to undergraduate meteorology stu- EHQH¿WVEDVHGRQUDLQIDOOHQKDQFHPHQWRI¿YHDQG dents. Initially, there were two meteorologist interns ten percent, and a 45 percent reduction in crop-hail working with the NDCMP each season (one intern losses: results supported by independent evalua- was assigned to each of the NDCMP radar sites). tions of the NDCMP (Dennis et al., 1975; Johnson, In 2008, the number of NDCMP intern meteorolo- 1985; Schaffner et al., 1983; Smith et al., 1997; and gists increased from two to three annually, allow- :LVH ,WIRXQGWKDWGLUHFWEHQH¿WVWRDJULFXO- ing for a rotation to be established between the tural production for NDCMP counties ranged from two radar sites and the North Dakota Atmospheric $12 million to $19.7 million per year. When consid- 5HVRXUFH%RDUG 1'$5% RI¿FHVLQ%LVPDUFN1' HULQJ1'&03FRVWVRIWKHEHQH¿W where the NDCMP forecaster is based. This pro- to cost ratios range from 15-25 to 1. Further, gross vides each intern with both operational radar and HFRQRPLFEHQH¿WVZKLFKFRQVLGHUWKHWXUQRYHURI forecasting experience and increases the likelihood additional dollars in the economy, are estimated at WKDWWKHSURJUDPZLOOEHQH¿WIURPUHWXUQLQJSHUVRQ- $37 million to $60.5 million annually. nel in upcoming seasons. Economics like these show why the program has 2.1 Improvements in Personnel Training had such long-standing support. Within the last two years, all six participating counties have made Besides the NDCMP meteorologist and pilot intern multi-year commitments to continue their participa- programs, advancements within the Information tion in and funding of the NDCMP. Technology (IT) industry during the last decade KDYH UHYROXWLRQL]HG WKH HIIHFWLYHQHVV RI 1'&03 2. NDCMP METEOROLOGIST AND PILOT STAFF personnel training. During the three-day pre-proj- Returning, experienced NDCMP meteorologists ect ground school held each May at the NDARB DQG SLORWV PDNH WKH PRVW VLJQL¿FDQW FRQWULEXWLRQ RI¿FHVFDVHVWXGLHVZLWKDFWXDO1'&03IRUHFDVW to improved operations for the program. Weather information, radar data, and operations logs are 0RGL¿FDWLRQ ,QF :0,  KDV EHHQ DZDUGHG FRQ- FRQGXFWHG VR WKDW ³UHDOWLPH´ ORJLVWLFDO GHFLVLRQV tracts to provide pilots in command (PICs) and can be discussed between project meteorologists aircraft since the establishment of the NDCMP in and pilots. Feedback from returning, experienced *HQHUDOO\¿YHRUVL[RIWKHHLJKW3,&VRQWKH project veterans is quite common and invaluable NDCMP return to the program each season with to the learning process. Meteorologists and pilots prior intern pilot or PIC experience. These experi- are also able to practice completing electronic pa- enced pilots respond quickly to launch orders given SHUZRUNVXFKDVUDGDUDQGÀLJKWORJVWKDWZLOOEH by NDCMP meteorologists and are constantly im- required of them during summertime operations. proving the timeliness of operations and targeting 3. of convective development. Prior to the 1997 NDCMP, radar services for the A downturn in the economy during the last few years two operational districts were leased from WMI. has created an extremely competitive job market, These radar services included the use of two En- providing the NDCMP with an increase in returning terprise Electronics WSR-100-2 Weather Radars personnel, including many three to six year project and PC-based digital color radar display systems. YHWHUDQV7KLVWUDQVODWHVLQWRLPSURYHGHI¿FLHQF\RI The NDARB was able to purchase three WSR-74C operations and an unprecedented level of training radars in 1996 through the Government Service for interns working on the program. $JHQF\7KH¿UVWWREHLQVWDOOHGZDVDWWKH%RZPDQ To date, 309 pilots and 35 meteorologists have par- County Airport for the 1997 operational season. ticipated in NDCMP internships, a testament to the The following year, a building was constructed at longevity of the two programs. The NDCMP Pilot the Stanley Municipal Airport that houses the sec- Internship Program began in 1976, with initial fund- ond NDCMP radar. The third WSR-74C radar has ing by the Bureau of Reclamation through the Uni- EHHQ XWLOL]HG IRU VSDUH SDUWV LQ RUGHU WR NHHS WKH versity of North Dakota (UND). Students enrolled in two primary radars operational. ZHDWKHUPRGL¿FDWLRQFRXUVHZRUNDW81'ZKRPHHW 7KXQGHUVWRUP,GHQWL¿FDWLRQ7UDFNLQJ$QDO\VLVDQG VSHFL¿F ÀLJKW WUDLQLQJ UHTXLUHPHQWV DUH HOLJLEOH WR Nowcasting (TITAN) software was incorporated into work as NDCMP intern pilots. There are nine in- project operations on both radars by 1998, allowing tern pilots chosen to work with the NDCMP annu- for tracking and analysis. The Bowman and ally and the internship provides them both piston Stanley radars were upgraded in 2009-10 by Vaisa- DQGWXUELQHPXOWLHQJLQHDLUFUDIWÀLJKWH[SHULHQFH la Inc. with Sigmet components, including RVP900

- TECHNICAL NOTES - CORRESPONDENCE - BOOK REVIEW 86 JOURNAL OF WEATHER MODIFICATION VOLUME 43 digital Doppler receivers/signal processors, RCP8 remain on-station longer. Each of the two turbine antenna controllers, and solid-state modulators. engines on the Cheyenne II produces 620 horse- The upgrades added Doppler velocity to NDCMP power (hp), which is twice that of the Cessna 340. operations and increased the radar’s low-end sen- Take-off to initial seed times for the years 2007-09, VLWLYLW\  :LQG YHORFLW\ ¿HOGV LQFUHDVH RSHUDWLRQDO when a Cessna 340 was used as the NDCMP’s pri- safety and give meteorologists clues as to where mary top-seeding aircraft, versus 2010, when the DGGLWLRQDO FRQYHFWLRQ PD\ GHYHORS DORQJ RXWÀRZ Cheyenne was introduced, indicate substantial im- boundaries etc.). An increase in low-end sensitivity provements (See Table 1). KHOSVPHWHRURORJLVWVZLWK¿UVWHFKRUHFRJQLWLRQIRU rain enhancement operations. Table 1. Median aircraft takeoff to initial seed- ing times (in minutes) for cloud top aircraft In the event of an NDCMP radar outage, both sites based in Williston, ND for years 2007-10. have GRLevel3 Viewer, which allows real-time access to NEXRAD Level III data from National 2007 2008 2009 2010 Weather Service (NWS) WSR-88D radars. The 33:25 31:57 25:06 18:31 Stanley radar location has neighboring WSR-88D sites in Minot, ND (Department of Defense), Bis- marck, ND, and Glasgow, MT for reasonably com- 5. PROJECT DOCUMENTATION plete operations reference data. The Bowman radar Prior to the 2003 NDCMP, project documentation site, however, is much further away from WSR-88D was completed on paper forms and mailed to the sites and has to rely on long-range radar data from 1'$5%RI¿FHLQ%LVPDUFNZHHNO\ An independent Bismarck, Billings, MT, and Rapid City, SD radars. review committee (Orville et al., 2003) recommend- This radar coverage begins at mid-levels of the at- ed that the NDARB collect and store this informa- mosphere over the District I operations area due tion in electronic format, making it more readily ac- to range limitations and provides only limited refer- cessible and useful. ence data. In 2003, meteorologists were able to begin using Real-time radar data from Bowman and Stanley an electronic database called 4th Dimension (4D) has been disseminated through the NDARB’s web- to document radar and aircraft operations. Dubbed site for several years. The public may access com- RadLog, the 4D application automatically synchs posite images from six-minute volume scans, with XS ZLWK D VHUYHU ORFDWHG DW WKH 1'$5% RI¿FHV LQ users having several options for creating loops or Bismarck, allowing for instant retrieval of current viewing historical data. In 2010, NEXRAD Level II operational information. The administrative staff of GDWDIRUPDW¿OHVIURPERWKUDGDUVZHUHSURGXFHG the NDARB now has the ability to review operations and disseminated through a separate URL ad- and seeding activities daily and provide feedback to dress. This allowed entities such as county emer- project personnel. gency management agencies and the NWS to re- ceive the data and readily use it for public safety. To complete the goal of an electronic record keep- Any of several available Level II data viewers, such ing system, the Palm Aircraft Recordkeeping Sys- as GRLevel2 or GR2Analyst are capable of down- tem (PARS) was created prior to the 2004 NDCMP. loading and displaying the data. PARS was conceived, designed and built in-house with off-the-shelf equipment, giving pilots a cus- 4. AIRCRAFT WRPL]HGLQWHUIDFHIRUGDWDFROOHFWLRQDQGLQSXW7KH 6LJQL¿FDQW XSJUDGHV LQ 1'&03 DLUFUDIW KDYH RF- 3$56 V\VWHP XWLOL]HV *OREDO 3RVLWLRQLQJ 6DWHOOLWH curred in the last decade. Improvements include re- (GPS) data with user input programs developed placing all Piper Twin Comanche aircraft with Piper for Palm Personal Digital Assistants. To date, this Seneca IIs in 2003, which enabled pilots to stay FRQ¿JXUDWLRQKDVEHHQYHU\VXFFHVVIXODWFROOHFWLQJ on–station longer due to larger fuel capacity and aircraft position and seeding data, while providing useful loads. Piper Seneca IIs used as base seed- D VWDQGDUGL]HG GDWD IRUPDW )OLJKW GDWD LQFOXGLQJ ing aircraft on the NDCMP carry 30 percent more aircraft engines on/off times, GPS position, alti- fuel and 37 percent greater useful loads than the tude, seeding equipment type, and seeding start/ Twin Comanche aircraft they replaced. stop times are uploaded to the NDARB server via In 2010, the NDCMP replaced the venerable Cess- modem on a daily basis. In addition to PARS, WMI na 340 with a Piper Cheyenne II turbo-prop aircraft. seeding aircraft are equipped with data systems, The Cheyenne II was based in Williston, ND, serv- providing operational redundancy. ing as the primary top-seeding aircraft for District II 6. SEEDING TIMELINESS AND operations. It outperforms the Cessna 340 in rate of OPERATIONS RESPONSE TIMES climb, cruise speed, and payload capacity, allowing Seeding of summer convective clouds must oc- LWWRFDUU\PRUHGU\LFHDQGVLOYHULRGLGHÀDUHVDQG cur within a small window of time in order to have

- TECHNICAL NOTES - CORRESPONDENCE - BOOK REVIEW APRIL 2011 SCHNEIDER AND LANGERUD 87 the prospect of success. Smith et al. (1985) ana- 7KH PHGLDQ DLUFUDIW WDNHRII WR ¿UVW VHHG WLPHV IRU O\]HGVHHGLQJWLPHOLQHVVIRUWKH1'&037KLV years 2007-10 are listed in Table 1 for the NDCMP study used NDCMP operational days when top-seeding aircraft based in Williston. The same UHDFKHGDUDGDUUHÀHFWLYLW\KDLOWKUHVKROGRIG%= SLORWÀHZWKH&HVVQDLQDQGWKH3LSHU DWNP IW RUKLJKHUDERYHWKHIUHH]LQJ Cheyenne II in 2010. There is a 39% decrease be- level. The time that conditions met the hail thresh- tween the mean 2007-09 and 2010 takeoff to seed old minus the time when cloud seeding for hail sup- times, mostly attributed to the higher performance pression began was used as an indicator of opera- aircraft. Other considerations are the seasonal ran- tional promptness. The results of the study showed domness of storm development and distance from that approximately 40 percent of the clouds during the aircraft’s launch site, which would affect the on- the 1981 season were seeded late. station times of the aircraft. The decrease in takeoff Improving this area of operations has been a con- to seed times from 2007 to 2009 can be attributed tinuing goal since that time. Subsequent, in-house to both pilot experience and storm development lo- evaluations have shown marked improvement of cations. operational seeding timeliness. Figure 2 shows 7. SUMMARY seeding timeliness of NDCMP operations for two Technological advancements, especially during the selected study periods (2002 and 2007-09). A sig- ODVW GHFDGH KDYH JUHDWO\ LPSURYHG WKH HI¿FLHQF\ QL¿FDQWLQFUHDVHLQRSHUDWLRQDOSXQFWXDOLW\RFFXUUHG and timeliness of operations on the NDCMP. Due between the 1981, 2002, and 2007-09 seasons due to the narrow window of opportunity that summer- to a combination of all the previously mentioned op- time convective clouds present for glaciogenic erational improvements during this period. seeding, it is critical that timely seeding occurs and Response times, including the verbal launching that aircraft are able to deliver their seeding agents (LNH) of aircraft by radar meteorologists, the en- with accuracy. Upgrades in weather radar technol- gines-on (EON) and takeoff times (TKOF), and time RJ\DLUFUDIWSHUIRUPDQFHDQG,7XWLOL]DWLRQRYHUWKH of initial seeding (SEED) are given primary consid- last decade have served the NDCMP well, ensuring eration when determining how promptly project per- that the program continues its success while build- sonnel are conducting operations once dispatched. ing on well-established operational methodologies. Figure 3 illustrates the improved mean response $FNQRZOHGJHPHQWVThe authors wish to acknowl- times on the NDCMP during the last decade. Of edge the work of NDCMP meteorologists Andy PDUNHGVLJQL¿FDQFHDUHWKHODVWWKUHH\HDUV  Clausen (2001-03) and Matt Ham (2009-10) who  ZKHQODXQFKWR¿UVWLQLWLDOVHHGWLPHVDUHWKH worked for the NDARB between operational pro- lowest of the seven years studied. grams evaluating seeding timeliness and aircraft

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- TECHNICAL NOTES - CORRESPONDENCE - BOOK REVIEW 88 JOURNAL OF WEATHER MODIFICATION VOLUME 43

)LJXUH1'&03DLUFUDIWPHDQUHVSRQVHWLPHV response times. Appreciation is also extended to Schaffner, L.W., J.E. Johnson, H.G. Vruegdenhil, IT Specialist Paul Moen for his work designing and DQG -: (Q]  (FRQRPLF HIIHFWV RI implementing the RadLog and PARS systems. added growing season rainfall on North Dakota agriculture. Agricultural Economics Report 172. Department of Agricultural REFERENCES Economics, North Dakota State University, Fargo, 19pp. %DQJVXQG ' DQG )//HLVWULW]  (FRQRPLF Smith, P.L., J.R. Miller, Jr., A.A. Doneaud, J.H. impacts of cloud seeding on agricultural crops +LUVFK'/3ULHJQLW]3(3ULFH.-7\OHU in North Dakota. Report prepared for the and H.D. Orville, 1985: Research to develop North Dakota Atmospheric Resource Board, evaluation techniques for operational Bismarck, ND., 37pp. FRQYHFWLYH FORXG PRGL¿FDWLRQ SURMHFWV Dennis, A.S., J.R. Miller Jr., D.E. Cain, and R.L. Institute of Atmospheric Sciences, South Schwaller, 1975: Evaluation by Monte Carlo Dakota School of Mines and Technology, tests of the effects of cloud seeding on growing Rapid City, 93pp season rainfall in North Dakota. - $SSO 6PLWK3/5-RKQVRQ'/3ULHJQLW]%$%RH 0HWHRU14, 959-969. and P.W. Mielke Jr., 1997: An exploratory Johnson, H.L., 1985: An evaluation of the North analysis of crop hail insurance data for 'DNRWD&ORXG0RGL¿FDWLRQ3URMHFW evidence of cloud seeding effects in North $ ¿QDO UHSRUW WR WKH 1RUWK 'DNRWD :HDWKHU Dakota. -$SSO0HWHRU36, 463-473. 0RGL¿FDWLRQ%RDUGSS :HDWKHU 0RGL¿FDWLRQ ,QF  1RUWK 'DNRWD Langerud, D.W. and P.T. Moen, 1998: An update on &ORXG 0RGL¿FDWLRQ 3URMHFW )LQDO 2SHUDWLRQV WKH 1RUWK 'DNRWD &ORXG 0RGL¿FDWLRQ 3URMHFW Report. Report prepared for the North Dakota -:HD0RG30, 85-90 (non-reviewed). Atmospheric Resource Board, 36pp. 1'$5%  1RUWK 'DNRWD &ORXG 0RGL¿FDWLRQ Wise, E.A., 2005: evaluation of the Project Operations Manual. ND Atmospheric 1RUWK 'DNRWD &ORXG 0RGL¿FDWLRQ 3URMHFW Resource Board, Bismarck, ND60pp M.S Thesis, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand 2UYLOOH +' '$ %DQDV]HZVNL -$ +HLPEDFK Forks, ND., 63pp. Jr., L. Osborne, P.L. Smith, and W.L. Woodley, 2003: A review of the North Dakota Cloud 0RGL¿FDWLRQ3URJUDP Report of a review panel to the North Dakota Atmospheric Resource Board., 29pp

- TECHNICAL NOTES - CORRESPONDENCE - BOOK REVIEW