Project Cumulus was a 1950s UK government initiative to investigate weather manipulation, in particular through cloud seeding experiments. Known jokingly internally as Operation Witch Doctor, the project was operational between 1949 and 1952.
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Motivation
The military were interested in controlling the weather for several reasons, as detailed in the minutes of an Air Ministry meeting held on 3 November 1953. They included:
Lynmouth disaster
On 16 August 1952 a severe flood occurred in the town of Lynmouth in north Devon. Nine inches (229 millimetres) of rain fell within twenty-four hours: "Ninety million tonnes of water swept down the narrow valley into Lynmouth" and the East Lyn River rose rapidly and burst its banks. Thirty-five people died and many buildings and bridges were seriously damaged. According to the BBC, "North Devon experienced 250 times the normal August rainfall in 1952."
A conspiracy theory has circulated that the flood was caused by secret cloud seeding experiments conducted by the Royal Air Force. The theory has been dismissed as "preposterous" by writer Philip Eden