This video does not prove ‘weather modification’ caused northern Michigan ice storm

An ice storm hit northern Michigan in March, causing tens of thousands of people to lose power.

Meteorologists called it a historic and once-in-a-generation ice storm. A Facebook user claimed it was manmade.

"Proof: natural disasters are created," an April 1 Facebook video’s text read. The video’s caption included the hashtags #gaylord and #gaylordicestorm, referring to Gaylord, Michigan.

"Let me show you what the difference between a real sky and a modified sky is," the narrator said. "This is southwest towards Grayling. This sky has got a haze. It's grayish." He then cuts to another part of the sky that is bluer.

"There is very clearly modification going on in the southwest, which coincidentally, has a military base with a lot of large equipment and a lot of power," he said.

(Screenshot from Facebook)

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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration defines weather modification as activities intended to produce "artificial changes in the composition, behavior, or dynamics of the atmosphere." Weather modification programs are real, and the most common form it takes is cloud seeding. 

But the video is not proof of weather modification. Harold Dippman, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service Gaylord forecast office, told PolitiFact the "haze" the narrator pointed out is cirrostratus clouds, "an extremely common high based cloud that occurs frequently at any point during the year."

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration shows examples of cirrostratus clouds on its website. NOAA describes these clouds as "transparent, whitish veil-like clouds with a fibrous (hair-like) or smooth appearance." They can look similar to a "milky veil of fog."

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Dippman said these clouds generally indicate an approaching weather system. 

The user posted the video April 1, "the only day after the storm where cloudier skies dispersed and sunny to mostly sunny skies were the prevailing skies," Dippman said, so it would make sense for cirrostratus clouds to have approached from the southwest given that the next system’s outer reaches were observed that afternoon, later affecting northern Michigan.

Martin Baxter, Central Michigan University meteorology professor, told PolitiFact "there are no weather modification programs in Michigan." He also said this video showed cirrostratus clouds "associated with an approaching warm front on the date of the video."

"The hazy appearance to the sky is caused by light from the sun reflecting off of the ice crystals which comprise the cloud," Baxter said. "In the video, it is clear that the hazy appearance is only seen near the sun, as expected."

PolitiFact has debunked other claims that falsely linked weather events to weather modification . 

The gray skies shown in the video do not prove that the ice storm was a product of weather modification. We rate that claim False.