When a cloud-seeding pilot flies inside a storm, it is not a matter of flying from point A to point B: you are trying to get something out of the weather all around you. Where do you want to fly, and what are you going to find once you get there?

When you duck inside a cloud, at first, you see almost nothing. Then suddenly, there’s a dark mass coiffed in white, and you’ve got to go right into that dark place. It’s equal parts beautiful and strange.

Cloud seeding, the practice of injecting certain materials into storm cells to enhance precipitation, has drawn interest from a growing number of water-strapped countries – particularly in the past five years. Currently, around 60 countries on five continents are operating cloud seeding operations to enhance rainfall, mainly for reservoirs, watershed, and agriculture.