Rainmaker CEO To Speak Publicly Amid Cloud Seeding Scrutiny Over Texas Floods
Dallas ExpressMon, July 7, 2025 at 11:31 AM EDT
3 min read
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Cloud seeding concept Image by Canva
As Texans reel from one of the deadliest natural disasters in state history, the CEO of a weather modification company at the center of growing public suspicion is preparing to face questions in a live forum.
Augustus Doricko, CEO of Rainmaker Technology Corporation, will appear in a live X Space hosted by conservative commentator @Amuse to respond to scrutiny surrounding a cloud seeding mission his company conducted two days before catastrophic floods swept through the Texas Hill Country on July 4.
Rainmaker confirmed it flew a 20-minute cloud seeding mission on July 2 over Karnes County, located southeast of the flood zone. The operation targeted two clouds that reportedly dissipated later that afternoon. No further flights were conducted before the floods began.
Doricko said Rainmaker suspended all operations the same day, citing compliance with Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) safety criteria.
Still, the timing has fueled rampant speculation online. Critics want to know: could the July 2 flight — however brief or distant — have influenced the deadly storm system that followed?
Veteran Houston meteorologist Travis Herzog weighed in this week, calling the theory scientifically unfounded.
“Cloud seeding cannot create a storm of this magnitude or size. In fact, cloud seeding cannot even create a single cloud,” Herzog said. “All it can do is take an existing cloud and enhance the rainfall by up to 20% — and even that is on the high end.”
He compared the theory to blowing out a candle and assuming one could extinguish a wildfire. “It is a matter of scale,” he said.
Herzog, who grew up near the Texas Hill Country and studied meteorology at Texas A&M, emphasized that catastrophic flash floods are not new to the region, referencing similar disasters in 1987, 2002, and 2015. He attributed the July 4 event to a stalled mesoscale convective vortex fueled by remnant tropical moisture, not cloud seeding.
“We want to make sense of this tragedy,” Herzog wrote. “And we never want to see it happen again.”
The flood dumped more than 18 inches of rain in some areas, triggering a surge on the Guadalupe River that peaked at 34.29 feet, inundating homes, camps, and low-water crossings.
Rainmaker has released flight logs and meteorological analysis showing no operations after July 2. The company says it welcomes scrutiny and followed all state guidelines, noting it stood down before the National Weather Service issued any watches or warnings.
Now, Doricko says he’s ready to address critics directly.
