Meteorologists visit C.A.S.P.E.R.

Medford, Ore.– All eyes were on the Medford International Rogue Valley Airport Thursday morning to meet CASPER, also known as the “Cable Attached System Providing Effective Relief”.  It’s a balloon that drops tiny dry ice pellets helping clear fog and opening up the runway during winter months.

Meteorologists and scientific experts from all over the country met for a demonstration of the mechanism that airport officials say was the first of it’s kind.  Even five years after it’s inception, it’s inspiring weather experts nationally.

“We are pretty notorious in this valley in the winter months to get that fog bank,” says Kim Stearns, public information officer for the airport.  “I don’t know of any another airport that uses a balloon filled with helium to do the fog seeding.”

Stearns says other airports often stop in to see CASPER at work, hoping to emulate the technology.

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