Cloud seeding can slash hail damage claims by up to 50%, says project leader

It's not new but we're getting way better at it, and that could take a chunk out of those pricey insurance claims.

"Most studies find anywhere from a 10 to 50 per cent reduction in overall hail damage claims as a result of cloud seeding," Andrew Brice told the Calgary Eyeopener in a Friday interview.

Brice is the chief pilot and project manager at the Alberta Hail Suppression Project, an annual program that runs  between the start of June and the middle of September.

"July is our peak season, typically," Brice said.

"When we have hailstorms, this is the most likely time to have it. Typically our forecast is two to three days in advance. The models we run have a lot of variability, so we can't predict terribly far out for severe hail."

There's a group of seasoned experts who bring the project to life.

"We have a team of 13 pilots, five aircraft and about five meteorologists, with a dedicated radar station," he said.

"The meteorology team comes up with our forecast for the day, and then they monitor the radar station 24 hours a day all summer. They identify any potential hail threats within our protected area and will launch the aircraft to that."

• Hailstorm researchers aiming to take a dent out of pricey insurance claims
• How cloud seeding can make it rain or prevent extreme weather

And that's where the flares come in.

"We aerosolize the silver iodide using pyrotechnics. We don't fly directly into the main storm. We fly around through the feeder field of the clouds that are developing into that main cell."

The goal is simple.

"We are trying to improve the efficiency of the freezing process so there are more small stones that will cause less damage when they precipitate out of the cloud," Brice said.

Trying to manage the size of hail is one piece of the puzzle, while understanding hailstorms on a macro level — through forecasting and targeted warnings — is quite another.

• 2014 | Alberta's cloud-seeding pilots see 2nd busiest year in 20 years
• 2010 | Calgary hail shrunk by cloud-seeding planes

That's where Julian Brimelow and the Northern Hail Project come in.

The idea is to better understand the number of storms and how big they are.

"We are also flying multiple drones with specialized cameras that fly behind hailstorms monitoring impact on crop health and infrastructure," Brimelow told CBC News in June.

Northeast Calgary experienced Canada's most costly hailstorm in June 2020. About 70,000 insurance claims were filed costing roughly $1.4 billion.

"It actually can amount to a lot of money saved. During the Calgary hailstorm, a good chunk of that was vehicle damage. We may in the future be able to reduce the impact," Brimlow said.