The Rainmaker Questions: What We Don't Know About Weather Modification in Texas

While families grieve, serious questions emerge about an unregulated industry operating in our skies

The devastating Texas floods have claimed at least 90 lives, including 28 children. As search teams continue looking for 41 missing people, conspiracy theories swirl around Augustus Doricko's Rainmaker Technology Corporation and its cloud seeding flight just two days before the disaster.

Let's be clear: there's no evidence Rainmaker caused these floods. Some meteorologists have thoroughly debunked that possibility. But the tragedy has exposed something more troubling—a massive, barely regulated weather modification industry operating across Texas with minimal oversight and zero transparency.

What Rainmaker Actually Did

On July 2nd, Rainmaker conducted a 20-minute drone flight over Karnes County, about 100 miles from the flood zone. The company uses advanced drone technology to inject substances—typically silver iodide particles—into clouds to increase precipitation by up to 20%.

But here's what we don't know: exactly what chemicals Rainmaker released, at what altitude, and how those particles interact with larger weather systems. The company has raised $31.3 million and operates with cutting-edge technology that goes far beyond traditional cloud seeding methods.

Doricko, the 24-year-old Stanford dropout funded by Peter Thiel, claims his drones can "reprogram the weather." That's either Silicon Valley hyperbole or a hint at capabilities we don't fully understand.

The Oversight Problem

Texas regulates weather modification through the Department of Licensing and Regulation—the same agency that licenses barbers and air conditioning repair technicians. The state requires permits but provides minimal ongoing supervision of actual operations.

Weather modification companies must file annual reports, but there's no real-time monitoring of what gets released into the atmosphere, when, or how it might interact with natural weather patterns. Operators essentially police themselves.

This hands-off approach covers approximately 31 million acres—about one-sixth of Texas. Multiple organizations conduct these operations simultaneously, often without coordination. The West Texas Weather Modification Association, South Texas Weather Modification Association, and private companies like Rainmaker all operate in parallel.

How Other Countries Succeed

China leads the world in weather modification, conducting operations across 60% of its territory. Their programs are centrally coordinated, scientifically rigorous, and transparent about methods and results. Beijing's weather modification efforts for the 2008 Olympics were extensively documented and independently verified.

The United Arab Emirates has successfully increased rainfall by 30% through cloud seeding programs managed by the National Weather Center. Their operations use detailed atmospheric modeling and real-time coordination with aviation authorities.

Russia operates massive weather modification programs with military precision, tracking every flight and chemical release. Even smaller programs in countries like Australia and Morocco publish detailed operational data.

The contrast with Texas is stark. While other nations treat weather modification as critical infrastructure requiring careful oversight, Texas treats it like an industrial hobby.

The Foreign Connection Question

Rainmaker's technology raises questions about international partnerships and knowledge transfer. The company's advanced drone systems and atmospheric modeling capabilities suggest collaboration with foreign research institutions or defense contractors.

China has aggressively recruited American weather modification experts and funded research at U.S. universities. Several Texas-based cloud seeding operations have received investment from firms with Chinese backing or partnerships.

We don't know if Rainmaker has foreign investors, research partnerships, or technology licensing agreements. The company's SEC filings don't reveal the full scope of its international connections.

What We Can't See

The real issue isn't conspiracy theories about weather weapons. It's the simple fact that weather modification happens constantly across Texas with almost no public awareness or government oversight.

On any given day, multiple organizations could be releasing chemicals into the atmosphere above populated areas. There's no central database of operations, no real-time public reporting, and no independent verification of what's actually being released.

Private companies with funding from billionaire investors, foreign partnerships, and cutting-edge technology operate with less oversight than food trucks.

The Transparency Solution

To truly be able to dismiss cloud-seeding as a potential factor in the Texas floods, we need an accurate dataset with real-time tracking: Every flight, every chemical release, every target area must be publicly reported within hours.

Independent monitoring: State meteorologists should verify all operations and publish findings.

International disclosure: Companies must reveal all foreign partnerships, investors, and technology sources.

Coordination requirements: No more parallel operations without central coordination through the National Weather Service.

Public notification: Communities deserve advance warning when chemicals will be released into their air.

The families grieving in Kerr County deserve answers about the weather forecasting failures that cost their children's lives. But all Texans deserve transparency about the weather modification industry operating above their heads every day. We're asking for basic oversight of an industry that could affect millions of lives—and currently operates in the shadows.