Hurricanes: Bomb 'Em or Dust 'Em?
Believe it or not, we frequently get these two odd questions at both WeatherMatrix and AccuWeather:
1. Why don't you just drop nuclear bombs in hurricanes to dissipate them?
2. African dust retards tropical development, why don't you just drop some dust in developing storms?
Below I will attempt to explain why these won't work, based on my knowledge, some cohorts' views, and a little Internet research.
Bombs Away!
Bombing the storm won't work for two very simple reasons: Not Effective, and Too Dangerous.
According to the Hurricane FAQ, hurricanes can release heat energy at a rate of one 10-megaton bomb every 20 minutes. That's big competition so it would be a very expensive and time-consuming project.
About That African Dust
Dropping dust in developing hurricanes would not work, even if it were possible. For one thing, it's not the dust as much as the dry air that retards development of the storms. The amount of dust required would be beyond our ability to carry with a large arsenal of airplanes, and the planes would not likely survive the turbulence of even a tropical depression. "Cloud seeding" has been tried on hurricanes but has not yet worked (and in some situations, has caused unexpected and undesirable results).
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