While looking into Birmingham, Alabama, chief meteorologist James Spann‘s new weather network, we saw that he felt compelled to get on social media recently to explain away conspiracy theories surrounding the deadly Texas floods that killed more than 100 people earlier this month.

Some, including lawmakers like Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, have pushed theories that chemtrails and/or cloud seeding were responsible for the floods that killed over 100 people in Texas. Chemtrails are the fictional belief that long-lasting condensation trails left in the sky by high-flying aircraft are made up of chemical or biological agents for undisclosed nefarious purposes.

Greene said on social media that she was introducing a bill to ban cloud seeding and other weather modification.

Spann responded on Facebook to what he described as “nasty messages and verbal threats” from the disinformation about how the weather works.

After receiving piles of nasty messages and verbal threats in recent days, I felt the need to share this information.

Cloud seeding did not cause last week’s Texas floods.

*Cloud seeding can only enhance rain from existing clouds by up to ~20%—it cannot create massive deluges.

*The last reported cloud‑seeding flight by Rainmaker Technology occurred on July 2, over 24 hours before the floods began, and the seeded clouds had already dissipated.

*The flooding stemmed from a stalled weather system, bringing 10–20 inches of rain last Thursday and Friday. This was fueled by moisture from Tropical Storm Barry, Gulf air, and hill‐country geography notorious for flash floods. This is nothing new for the Guadalupe River.

Bottom line: The Texas floods were caused by natural weather dynamics—not human interference or weather modification efforts. It was not caused by Democrats or Republicans. 

Again this morning, I’m asking that you put the political rhetoric and nonsense conspiracy stuff aside for a while… let these poor families grieve. Consider empathy and kindness. Thank you.

WBMA Chief Meteorologist James Spann

Cloud seeding has been around for 80 years and involves dropping silver iodide crystals into clouds to trigger rain or snow. About 31 million acres of Texas land is affected by cloud seeding programs, according to MYSA.

According to the Austin American-Statesman, the U.S. Geological Survey has recorded the Guadalupe River flooding more than a dozen times since 1978. However, the 2025 has been one of its worst, with the river rising 26 feet in 45 minutes.