South Texas Weather Modification Association – Pleasanton, Texas

Seeding Report – July 2, 2025

Synoptic/Mesoscale Conditions:

Since the upper-level ridge remains just to our east, a steady southeasterly wind continues to funnel in deep tropical moisture. This setup is similar to what brought widespread downpours to the western part of the region on Tuesday. Recent high-resolution model runs are now showing multiple waves of this moisture moving into the area, some even reaching as far east as the Austin metro and the Coastal Plains. This is a noticeable shift from previous forecasts, suggesting the ridge may be weaker than earlier thought. With precipitable water values rising above 2 inches, any storms that form could drop heavy rainfall in a short period.

Radar continues to indicate scattered showers and a few thunderstorms across the Rio Grande Plains, the southern Edwards Plateau, and parts of the Hill Country. New storm development is also being observed over the Coastal Plains and stretching into parts of the I-35 corridor. We’ve made slight updates to the forecast to reflect this, expanding low-end rain chances farther east across the rest of the I-35 corridor and much of the Coastal Plains. Moisture levels remain well above normal for this time of year, supporting the potential for additional rainfall. Winds in the lower atmosphere are generally out of the southeast, steering storms toward the northwest at around 30 mph.

Lifting Mechanism:

Thermodynamic Indices -12Z KDRT Sounding

Discussion:

Isolated showers and storms continued into the afternoon across the target area thanks to deep tropical moisture. Visibility very poor out west, however, pilot launched and headed to a large cloud over western Karnes County. Upon arrival pilot found inflow and was able to treat it. This cloud eventually moved into Atascosa County. Pilot then headed to another cloud in eastern Karnes County and treated cell 1408. This cell continued into Wilson County. Pilot blocked in by storms and visibility/ceilings poor for flying to get to Wilson County and elsewhere so pilot RTB.

Watches/Warnings: None

Seeded Cell ID’s:

Flight Information:

Seeding operations were conducted over Karnes (13G+1H) County. 13 glaciogenic flares and 1 hygroscopic flare were burned within 2 clouds. This is the  day for seeding in June and the  day for seeding during the season.

** Note- 1 glaciogenic flare = 5.5 grams AgI and 1 hygroscopic flare = 500 grams NaCl **

Flight1: 60P