Florida airports must file monthly reports beginning Oct. 1 2025, regarding the status of aircraft with weather modification devices. If they don't, they face defunding from the Department of Transportation. The Department of Transportation granted Florida airports more than $112 million for infrastructure improvements last year. Airports may face a loss of significant funding if they fail to comply.
“The Free State of Florida means freedom from governments or private actors unilaterally applying chemicals or geoengineering to people or public spaces,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a statement.
According to Senate Bill 56, weather modification and geoengineering activities are banned in Florida.
The provisions require airports to issue monthly reports to comply with the bill enacted in July 2025. All public Florida airports must now report the physical presence of any aircraft on their property equipped with any component capable of affecting climate, sunlight intensity, temperature, or weather.
Previously, state law required people to apply for a weather modification license. No one has ever applied since it became available from the Department of Environmental Protection in 1956.
SB 56 outlines any weather modification activities as a third-degree felony punishable with up to a $100,000 fine. Florida joins Tennessee in states with bills forbidding geoengineering, including cloud seeding. Montana also has regulations, but they allow for cloud seeding.
Florida Cloudseeding
The last reported cloud seeding projects in Florida took place with citrus growers in three counties. These efforts were discontinued in 1957.
After the historic 2024 hurricane season, during which Florida experienced back-to-back landfalls from Idalia and then Milton within weeks, some lawmakers cited weather manipulation as a possible cause. Sen. Ileana Garcia introduced the bill to help "clarify this issue and openly address concerns surrounding [weather modification]."
The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season has been remarkably quiet, with no active storms reported during its peak (between August and September) for the first time in about a decade.
All weather modification activities are directed to be reported to the designated email address [email protected].
