The Texas rainmaking experiment brought dynamite, balloons and kites to a drought-hit ranch in August 1891 in an attempt to make rain. Congress allocated $7,000 for the government-backed trials, but they failed to convince scientists that explosions could produce rainfall.

Key Takeaways

  • Project leader Robert G. Dyrenforth saw a rainstorm after the final blasts as evidence that the method worked.
  • Meteorologist George E. Curtis disagreed, and the trials lacked control areas to test whether the explosions had any effect.

How the Texas rainmaking experiment worked

The Department of Agriculture assigned Dyrenforth, a Washington-based patent lawyer, to lead the project. His team included Curtis, a Smithsonian Institution meteorologist, and chemist Claude O. Rosell.

At C Ranch near Midland, the team detonated explosives and sent balloons carrying charges into the air. Some balloons drifted away, equipment malfunctioned and kites did not fly properly.

Rain fell, but the evidence was inconclusive

After the final round of explosions on August 25, Dyrenforth reported thunder and a heavy rainstorm. But rainfall measurements were limited, weather officials had reportedly forecast showers beforehand, and the team had no proper control areas.

Curtis wrote in Nature that the experiments provided no scientific support for the idea that explosions could produce rainstorms. Later trials elsewhere in Texas, and separate experiments funded by businessman Charles W. Post from 1910 to 1914, also failed to establish a reliable link.

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