# What would happen if you bombed a tornado? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 5, 2004, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-you-bombed-a-tornado/243695 "2004-05-05T19:27:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PigBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/97f17d/32.png) [@PigBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigBoy)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2004, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-you-bombed-a-tornado/243695/1 "2004-05-05T19:27:20Z")
What, if any, effect would a bomb exploded on the ground right under a tornado have on the tornado? Could it screw up the flow of air somehow and kill the tornado? Of course I expect the answer depends on the type of bomb and tornado- do feel free to speculate on any or all kinds. (Nuclear bomb vs. huge tornado/supercell?) ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2004, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-you-bombed-a-tornado/243695/2 "2004-05-05T19:36:09Z")
My WAG would be that there would be bomb fragments thrown about by the tornado. Now if you used napalm and fried the area right in front of the tornado the change in temp my affect the tornado. Or you might end up with a tornado of flame, but that would be cool. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2004, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-you-bombed-a-tornado/243695/3 "2004-05-05T21:32:10Z")
A bomb created a high pressure area, a tornado is a low pressure area. My wag is that they would cancel each other out as much as they can. THat could do nothing in reality to the tornado unless we went thermonuclear, but that might be a tad more distructive, and actually causes a low pressure wave anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2004, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-you-bombed-a-tornado/243695/4 "2004-05-05T21:38:58Z")
> [@](#): > > **What would happen if you bombed a tornado?** You’d destroy a trailer park 😃 ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2004, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-you-bombed-a-tornado/243695/5 "2004-05-05T22:00:37Z")
here’s one persons opinion "Can’t we weaken or destroy tornadoes somehow, like by bombing them or sucking out their heat with a bunch of dry ice? The main problem with anything which could realistically stand a chance at affecting a tornado (e.g., hydrogen bomb) is that it would be even more deadly and destructive than the tornado itself. Lesser things (like huge piles of dry ice or smaller conventional weaponry) would be too hard to deploy in the right place fast enough, and would likely not have enough impact to affect the tornado much anyway. Imagine the legal problems one would face, too, by trying to bomb or ice a tornado, then inadvertantly hurting someone or destroying private property in the process. In short – bad idea! " from [http://www.wsmv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1361245](http://www.wsmv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1361245) ---
**Author:** ![Thaumaturge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@Thaumaturge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thaumaturge)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2004, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-you-bombed-a-tornado/243695/6 "2004-05-05T22:10:27Z")
Rather than being silly and bombing the base of the tornado ( which often moves unpredictably anyway), why not bomb it where it meets the cloud? Couldn’t disrupting the airflow there break up the vortex? Somehow I seriously doubt that anyone has launched a powerfull missile at the base of the cloud/top of funnel area to test this out. Somehow I also doubt it will ever happen though, so I doubt we’ll ever know. ---
**Author:** ![Sensualips](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7c8e57/32.png) [@Sensualips](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sensualips)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2004, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-you-bombed-a-tornado/243695/7 "2004-05-05T22:25:36Z")
How about a single-line formation of jets with flaps on flying through the weakest, most-easily-disabled part of the flow? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2004, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-you-bombed-a-tornado/243695/8 "2004-05-05T22:41:41Z")
Am I not right in thinking that the destructive ‘twister’ part of a tornado is just the _effect_ of a very much larger _cause_? If this is correct, then bombing it might make it go away for a short time, but it would be attacking the wrong end of the beast. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2004, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-you-bombed-a-tornado/243695/9 "2004-05-05T22:56:33Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > You’d destroy a trailer park 😃 Dammit **Nametag** , you beat me to it. Just moved out of a trailer park last year. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2004, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-you-bombed-a-tornado/243695/10 "2004-05-05T23:13:24Z")
Not tornadoes, but one fellow thinks he’s found a **non-destructive** solution to [hurricanes.](http://www.dynomat.com/news052802.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![PigBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/97f17d/32.png) [@PigBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigBoy)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2004, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-you-bombed-a-tornado/243695/11 "2004-05-05T23:18:41Z")
> [@Thaumaturge](#): > > Rather than being silly and bombing the base of the tornado ( which often moves unpredictably anyway), why not bomb it where it meets the cloud? Couldn’t disrupting the airflow there break up the vortex? Somehow I seriously doubt that anyone has launched a powerfull missile at the base of the cloud/top of funnel area to test this out. Somehow I also doubt it will ever happen though, so I doubt we’ll ever know. I hadn’t thought of that. Would the top part more appropriately be the “key” to the tornado’s survival, etc.? Whatever the most important part is, we need to blast the hell out of it, and videotape it. All in the name of science, of course. 😉 > [@Mangetout](#): > > Am I not right in thinking that the destructive ‘twister’ part of a tornado is just the _effect_ of a very much larger _cause_? If this is correct, then bombing it might make it go away for a short time, but it would be attacking the wrong end of the beast. I’m assuming that a bomb isn’t going to destroy what produces the tornado (unless maybe it’s a nuclear bomb?), but perhaps a single specific tornado could be destroyed even if its cause is not and a different one touches down later someplace else. There’s only one way to find out, though. So who wants to volunteer to try it? ---
**Author:** ![paraclete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ad7895/32.png) [@paraclete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paraclete)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-you-bombed-a-tornado/243695/12 "2004-05-06T02:29:44Z")
The Big Spins… Both hurricanes and Tornadoes are contingent upon heat transfer. If you disrupt their feeding, than for sure they can terrorize no more… Instead of Nukes, I would suggest perhaps the utilization of cryogenics… To test this theory just leave your Freezer door open next time you hear a loud freight train like noise emenating from your house decor…or not. -paraclete ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-you-bombed-a-tornado/243695/13 "2004-05-06T02:58:09Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Am I not right in thinking that the destructive ‘twister’ part of a tornado is just the _effect_ of a very much larger _cause_? If this is correct, then bombing it might make it go away for a short time, but it would be attacking the wrong end of the beast. This is an excellent point. Tornadoes are symptoms of a storm system that can extend over hundreds of thousands of square miles and hit half a dozen states in a night. Dozens or even hundreds of tornadoes may be spawned by such an event. Dropping a bomb would be like seeding the Sahara by dropping a bag of Miracle-Gro on an oasis. ---
**Author:** ![Mullinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mullinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mullinator)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-you-bombed-a-tornado/243695/14 "2004-05-06T14:45:47Z")
> [@paraclete](#): > > Instead of Nukes, I would suggest perhaps the utilization of cryogenics… > -paraclete If that’s the case, we could just throw Ted Williams’ head at the tornado. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-you-bombed-a-tornado/243695/15 "2004-05-06T17:17:53Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Not tornadoes, but one fellow thinks he’s found a **non-destructive** solution to [hurricanes.](http://www.dynomat.com/news052802.shtml) That website has introduced me to an entirely new form of apostrophe abuse. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you: \*\* its’\*\*. _Won’t somebody please think of the punctuation!_