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Why did later studies question whether Hurricane Debbie weakened because of cloud seeding?
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weather modification
Cloud seeding can produce an extra 5 to 15% of precipitation.
While early experiments during Project Stormfury suggested that cloud seeding with silver iodide could reduce the wind speeds of hurricanes, such as Hurricane Debbie in 1969, later scientific analysis challenged these findings. Researchers concluded that the observed decreases in wind intensity were likely the result of natural storm cycles rather than the human intervention of seeding.1
Because these fluctuations in intensity occur naturally, the initial optimism regarding the ability to beneficially modify hurricanes was tempered. Consequently, Project Stormfury was discontinued in 1983, and there are currently no active programs dedicated to hurricane modification.1