Hurricane Killers

Since the tropics have really started to heat up, I thought it would be a good time to mention on here something that I've sometimes thought about for a while now. There have also been many ideas about if it would be possible to kill a hurricane.

When people talk about weather control, they usually only discuss only one part of it, the part that creates or steers the storm.
Theres something else though, that I've thought about from time to time and that is would it be possible to just make a hurricane disappear before it could do any harm. If so, what would be the most logical way to go about doing it?

Someone came up with an idea and has invented a powder to do just that but there was a lot of skepticism and environmental concerns. The idea is to dump this absorbent powder in the hurricane and it will absorb all of the moisture.

Of course, there are environmental concerns.

The idea that I have always thought would probably work was to explode a nuclear device in the eye or near the eyewall of the storm to literally blow it apart.


Of course this would also have some environmental concerns, specifically the idea that it will not only NOT work but it will then cause a nuclear rain to fall on whatever cities the hurricane eventually hits or it would actually strengthen the hurricane.

The storm bombers are laying low so far.

That’s my term for those who recommend dropping bombs on hurricanes as a means to weaken or kill them.

Usually, in the wake of the first hurricane, they ask why the U.S. government hasn’t considered this tactic. They argue that the cost of nuking a storm certainly would be cheaper than the damage it would leave behind.

Usually, I have to explain what the experts have explained to me: bombs will not disrupt or diminish a hurricane. The reason: All the energy from a bomb burst would simply pass through a storm’s structure.

If a storm were made out of bricks, yes, bombs would be pretty effective. But since they are constructed out of porous air, low pressure and moisture, there is nothing for a bomb to knock down.

Indeed, I once asked Hugh Willoughby, then director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Hurricane Research Division in Miami, what would happen if a nuclear bomb were dropped on a hurricane?

His answer: The storm would become radioactive and its power might even be bolstered.

Now that makes a little sense because of the enormous heat the nuclear device would emit inside the storm and everyone knows that hurricanes feed on heat.

Source page

Here is a site that has some questions and answers that reference possible ways to kill a hurricane.


Source page-USA Today

Q: Could a large chunk of ice from the poles be towed into the path of a hurricane to weaken it?

A: As with most hurricane modification ideas, this one is much easier said than done.

Part of the problem is the sheer size of a typical hurricane and the amount of ocean that one traverses in a day. A hurricane with a 30-mile diameter eye, moving at 10 mph, will cover a swath of 7,200 square miles in one day. That would be a lot of ice! And this assumes we know exactly where to place the ice. Quite often the uncertainty in the path of a hurricane can be 100 miles in a 24-hour forecast.

Theyre all interesting but I found the final question and answer to be the most interesting one.
Here is the question and the answer

Q: Is trying to modify hurricanes such a good idea after all?

A: Today, scientists are more cautious about trying to modify the weather than they were during the 1960s. Hurricanes, along with other storms and ocean currents, help balance the Earth's heat budget. Trying to change hurricanes could have consequences that no one intended.

Anyone have an opinion on any of these ideas or have an idea that hasnt been brought up on any of these pages yet?


[edit on 9/2/2007 by Kr0n0s]

My opinion on this is, leave nature alone. Don't interfere with it. The more you interrupt the cycle, the more violent the storms and weather get. And definitely dropping a nuke into a hurricane is a terrible idea. Talk about the worst disaster ever... Everyone should try another approach, like developing a material for homes that withstands the extremes of any kind of weather. Also moving individuals inland more away from the beach,not allowing them to build where they will be washed away, or if they do build there, don't expect help. Period. That is my two cents...

[edit on 2-9-2007 by wrangell76]

How about cooling it down? Bomb the eye with dry ice. Just a thought...

reply to post by Hellmutt


The USA Today site that I posted answers that question. It suggests that the logistics and cost of getting the dry ice to the area would be extremely difficult.
It would also require an enormous amount of the ice, enough to cover thousands of square miles would be a problem as well.
Good idea though, definitely cooling the water down is the key. Also someway to possibly absorbing the moisture like the African dust does, or blow it apart like wind shear does.

USA Today

Well, short of filling up the largest contaniar of ice known to man and droppingthe ice in the sea... thats inresting, and idea i have, while in the realam of the 'what if', there was a sort of anti-incenduary devcice, that instead of emitting heat, it would emit low tempautres and cool the surrounding water. Also mabye a decive that could change the preassure in the eye would affect the storm advesrly.

Originally posted by Hellmutt
How about cooling it down? Bomb the eye with dry ice. Just a thought...

How about........do nothing? Or at least build in a manner appropriate to the environment.

The last thing we need is to have man 'control' hurricanes.

The Benefits Of Hurricanes

...In fact, meteorologists are beginning to believe that tropical storms may more than offset the damage they cause by the good they do. Scientists already know that in such places as Japan, India, Southeast Asia−even in the southeastern portion of the U.S.−tropical storms provide up to 25% of available rainfall. If this vital precipitation were ever cut off by man's interference with such storms, the results might be ruinous for farmers, industry and drinking-water supplies. Now many meteorologists are becoming convinced that tropical storms have an even more significant and less understood role: they may well be a crucial factor in maintaining the planet's heat balance, which is essential to the well-being of all life.

More...

Originally posted by Hellmutt
How about cooling it down? Bomb the eye with dry ice. Just a thought...

Dry ice is not required for an endothermic reaction. Just some Citric Acid and Baking Soda.

Lemonade anyone?

The problem with the dry ice theory is the fact that it would literally take tons and tons of the stuff to cover the thousands of square miles that a hurricane takes up.
Even if you just "seeded" the eye walls, the eyes can be up to 25 miles or more across.