Euro: Ukraine to use rockets to disperse rain clouds

Ukraine is planning to fire rockets to break up rain clouds if bad weather threatens to upset soccer matches during next month's Euro 2012 tournament, a government official said on Monday.

"Our (missile) batteries are being prepared for dispersing rain clouds," the official, who declined to be named, said.

Weather forecasters predicted there would be dry, warm weather for at least the first two European Championship games to be played in Ukraine.

"We expect there will be no rain in Ukraine on June 9. The temperature is likely to be between 20 and 24 Celsius degrees (68 to 75 Fahrenheit)," Anatoly Prokopenko, deputy head of Ukraine's State Weather Forecast Centre, said.

Ukraine is co-hosting the tournament with Poland from June 8-July 1.