Let it snow.

Parts of Wyoming should see a direct increase in snow pack of at least 10 percent due to a new cloud-seeding program to begin this winter. The Sierra Madre, Medicine Bow and Wind River mountain ranges are the targets for the state-funded "weather modification" project. It aims to increase snowfall by releasing a silver iodide compound into the clouds around the ranges using fixed platforms and special aircraft. "This is not a drought-busting tool, but a long-term water management strategy," said Barry Lawrence, project manager with the Wyoming Water Development commission. Lawrence said the nearly $9 million price tag is estimated to yield increased precipitation at an average cost of about $8 per acre foot of water. Environmental studies on the negative effects of using silver iodide have proved negligible in previous cases. Utah has seeded clouds in the southwestern part of the state since 1973.