TexasHIPLEX: Texas High Plains Experiment

Summary

The 1980 cloud seeding campaign of the Texas High Plains Experiment (HIPLEX) was conducted in West Texas during the spring/summer of 1980. Texas HIPLEX was managed by the Texas Department of Water Resources under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BuREC). Other national, state, and local agencies involved in the 1980 field project included the Colorado River Municipal Water District (CRMWD), Texas A&M University (TAMU), Texas Tech University (TTU), NASA, NOAA, and NCAR. The 1980 deployment was similar to previous years (1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979) and the operational areas and networks are shown in the Network Map. The early years of the Texas HIPLEX Program consisted mainly of exploratory research, i.e. data collection and some initial analysis. During the 1979 and 1980 field campaigns, increased analysis efforts were directed to understanding the mesoscale controls of convective cloud development and the microscale properties of cloud and precipitation processes. Emphasis was placed on cloud seeding and measurements of growing cumulus clouds in the -4 deg C to -10 deg C range.