A Statistical Analysis in South Dakota of Historical Hail Suppression Efforts using Crop-Hail Insurance Data

An assessment of spatial and temporal patterns in crop damage as a function of hail suppression is presented. An examination of the effects of cloud seeding on the amount of crop-hail damage sustained, was carried out for the state of South Dakota for the period 1948-1982. This was done to establish if the counties of South Dakota which engaged in weather modification efforts experienced a reduction in crop-hail damage when compared to those counties which did not employ cloud seeding. Within the limitations of the data employed and the analyses performed, no significant decrease in the amounts of crop-hail damage as the result of weather modification efforts was found.