“They can control hurricanes!” The Science Behind Science Fiction

In the world of conspiracy theories, few ideas are as bizarre as the idea that hurricanes manufactured weapons unleashed by the government to cause chaos.

But here we are.

Happy hurricane season forecast to last until Decemberunderstanding the science and debunking dangerous misinformation will likely continue. Atlantic hurricane 2024 This season alone there have already been severe storms causing damage hundreds of billionsLate-season hurricanes could remain a major threat to vulnerable communities, experts warn.

Everyone knows that the strength of the average Atlantic hurricane is not that small, but some people find it easier to imagine government intervention than nature causing chaos. By comparison, a hurricane releases about 5 x 10¹⁹ joules of energy per day—an amount roughly 200 times the world’s total daily electricity production, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That’s 50 quintillion joules—enough to light 9.64 trillion 60-watt light bulbs for a day straight, or broadcast 198 trillion hour-long sessions of conspiracy theorists. Information Wars by Alex Jones on a standard 70-watt laptop, according to Reckon’s high-precision analysis. For reference, that’s 22.6 million years of streaming information warfare.

On October 9, Jones called hurricane activity a sign government tyrannyclaiming that Hurricanes Helen and Milton were caused by programs such as the High Frequency Active Polar Research Program. (HAARP) destroy Republican districts before the elections and steal lithium deposits under people’s homes in North Carolina. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia wrote on X that “they” can control the weather. “It’s funny to lie and say it’s impossible,” she added.

This implies the statement that FEMA ran it ran out of money after giving it to undocumented immigrants, and that it only provides humanitarian aid in the form of loans. Federal agency quickly denied the claimswarning that such misinformation can undermine public trust in official leadership during disasters and confuse people in need. ​

HAARP MissionThe purpose of the research is not to create hurricanes, but to study the part of the atmosphere that affects radio and satellite signals. The project began in 1993, but in 2015 the US Air Force transferred it to the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Thus, there is no government control here.

But what does it really take to cause a hurricane?

In addition to the unimaginable energy requirements to sustain a hurricane, this would also mean creating ideal large-scale conditions for its formation, as Professor Kerry Emanuela renowned meteorologist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told Reckon.

“They’ll need a hot ocean, an atmosphere that’s not too warm and still at varying altitudes, up to about 10 miles,” he said, noting that while those conditions often naturally coincide during hurricane season, they’re currently impossible to reproduce. “Then they would need a way to destroy the wind shear in the atmosphere so that a hurricane could form.”

Wind shear This is a change in wind speed or direction at different altitudes. It often prevents storms from developing into hurricanes and can even weaken those that have already formed. Wind shear is coming far and wideincluding high-altitude jet streams, low- and high-pressure systems, and interactions with coastal or mountainous terrain to disrupt the hurricane’s structure.

But that’s not the hardest part.

To those who believe that a hurricane can be “directed” to hit a specific target, Emanuel is frank: “The amount of technology and energy that would be required to do this is truly colossal and unimaginable. Without this, nothing you can do will result in a hurricane.”

But science fiction about hurricane control was born out of science that is several decades old cloud seeding.

Cloud seeding is when planes or rockets drop particles such as silver iodide into clouds to encourage precipitation. It was used since the 1940s. Originally discovered General Electric Scientists using dry ice is a popular method of stimulating precipitation in drought-prone areas such as Idaho and Colorado. Even China has used cloud seeding to ensure clear skies during the 2008 Beijing Olympicspractices they rely on to manage air quality and precipitation patterns.​

Scientists have recently explored solar geoengineering using stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) methods. This approach releases particles such as sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, which reflect sunlight, simulating a cooling effect. However, these methods are aimed at mitigating climate change rather than controlling weather events.

However, the government has made attempts to control hurricanes.

“Scientists have been trying to find ways to prevent hurricanes or reduce their severity since the 1960s,” Professor Emanuel said, referring to Project Stormragewhich lasted two decades and ultimately ended in 1983 with an unsurprising result. “The results were completely inconclusive.”

“Even with current theories, it won’t work even if you try it 1,000 times,” he added.