ISU professor’s research provides a new outlook on weather prediction

A local scientist is getting a better understanding of how weather works.

Idaho State University professor Ken Aho, accompanied by a team of scientists, recently published a paper on how airborne bacteria and fungi help create rain and snow.

Their findings may help scientists predict weather patterns, particularly precipitation levels. It took nearly four years of compiling data from storms throughout the country and even parts of France to complete their research.

Aho, ISU associate professor of plant ecology, is excited about his research because he believes it may open the door for additional research in the future.

“A lot of bacteria in the atmosphere can nucleate ice and thus can serve as triggers for precipitation,” Aho
said.