# Stopping a hurricane with a nuclear bomb

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-a-hurricane-with-a-nuclear-bomb/839289>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 27, 2019, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-a-hurricane-with-a-nuclear-bomb/839289 "2019-08-27T02:15:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![DaveRaver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daveraver/32/1078_2.png) [@DaveRaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveRaver)\
**Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-a-hurricane-with-a-nuclear-bomb/839289/1 "2019-08-27T02:15:21Z")

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Trump reportedly floated the idea of dropping a nuclear bomb on a hurricane in its early stages off the coast of Africa to disrupt it. What would the effect actually be on the progression of the hurricane?

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**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\
**Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-a-hurricane-with-a-nuclear-bomb/839289/2 "2019-08-27T02:44:22Z")

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It seems like Mr. Trump does not follow the SDMB, where he could have learned [a few things about nuclear bombs and hurricanes.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=794771&highlight=bomb+hurricane)

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**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\
**Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-a-hurricane-with-a-nuclear-bomb/839289/3 "2019-08-27T02:53:59Z")

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About the same as a Kenworth 18 wheeler hitting a squirrel at 60km/hr.

It would just be par for the course that anybody Stateside would consider/fantasise about casually dropping a nuke off the coast of Africa but would regard it as unthinkable to do the same off the coast of the USA.

You could compare the footprint of a small hurricane vs the footprint of a large nuclear explosion to get an idea of the scale.

Alternatively air pressure is caused by the weight of air. Hurricanes are low pressure events. Winds reach high speeds largely because there is so little mass to slow them. So to down grade a category 5 to a category 2 hurricane involves increasing the mass of air by about half a tonne per square metre. That’s in the order of billions of tonnes into the eye of the storm.

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**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\
**Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-a-hurricane-with-a-nuclear-bomb/839289/4 "2019-08-27T03:17:31Z")

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> [@Kent\_Clark](#):
>
> It seems like Mr. Trump does not follow the SDMB

He’s already a stable genius.

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**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\
**Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-a-hurricane-with-a-nuclear-bomb/839289/5 "2019-08-27T05:57:53Z")

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Hurricanes are like Mongo. If you shoot them, you’ll just make them mad.