Scientists mull controversial plan to steer hurricanes

Technology is on the cusp of allowing humans to disrupt or steer natural disasters, like hurricanes, according to a new study, which appeared in the journal PLOS Water on June 24.

If that sounds like far-fetched science fiction, some scientists would agree with you. But study authors say humans must embrace technology to help tame the world's weather, before it's too late.

"The growing impact of weather extremes on society highlights that traditional approaches such as dams, levees, and insurance alone may not be sufficient to address the widespread consequences of these hazards," the authors say.

Their proposed solution: Use existing technology (often used to extract rain from clouds), and supercharge it with high-tech data and analysis. Done correctly, humans might be able to disrupt huge weather systems and protect densely populated areas.

In the study, scientists suggested that small, carefully-timed cloud seeding operations applied days before the peak of an extreme weather event could have shifted the track of Superstorm Sandy in 2012 by about 300 miles to miss New York City, raised the low temperature of the 2021 Texas freeze by about 18 degrees Fahrenheit and reduced the amount of precipitation carried by a 2022 atmospheric river that caused flooding in California by about 5%.

Critics say it's a far-fetched idea with little proof.

Katja Friedrich, an assistant professor in the department of atmospheric and oceanic science at the University of Colorado, told USA TODAY via email that "there is currently NO scientific evidence" supporting the idea that existing cloud-seeding technologies "can modify large-scale weather systems, in particular severe weather systems like hurricanes and thunderstorms, that are driven by large dynamic forcing."

Weather 'jiu-jitsu'

Study authors say they're hopeful the research will yield results. They offer the martial art of jiu-jitsu as an analogy.

"The basic principle of jiu-jitsu is to achieve maximum efficiency with minimal effort," said study co-author Upmanu Lall of Arizona State University, in an email to USA TODAY. "It relies on the core philosophy that a smaller, weaker person can successfully defend themselves against a larger, stronger attacker using leverage, proper weight distribution, and momentum rather than brute strength."

Authors think humans might just be able to leverage a few tools at our disposal to change the course of huge weather events.

Controversial cloud seeding at the center of study's proposal

Cloud seeding is a decades-old approach to modifying weather that uses a range of supporting technologies for research and operations, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

Nine U.S. states are currently using it, while ten have banned or have considered banning cloud seeding or weather modification in general, the GAO said. This includes Florida, which banned it in 2025.

The most common uses of cloud seeding are to increase precipitation or suppress hail, usually by adding tiny particles of silver iodide, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Cloud seeding alone isn't enough

For the study's theory to work, it would take a high density of observations, available in near real time, AI models that can rapidly process them to identify locations that are suitable for nudging, and a delivery mechanism for a nudge, Lall said.

And researchers aren't even sure cloud seeding is the right technology to physically nudge weather systems.

"We are still working on the best technology for delivering the nudge," Lall said. "A very large-scale cloud seeding effort at the right time and place, is a possible mechanism, but not necessarily the definitive one."

Previous research on the topic has proven tricky. Researchers tried something similar decades ago with cloud seeding to weaken hurricanes and found it hard to measure the effect of their experiments.

They found it "is very difficult to separate the effects of human intervention from the natural variability of hurricanes," said Kara Lamb, an associate research scientist at Columbia University, in an email to USA TODAY.

Study authors, however, hope modern technology and AI computing will make future efforts more successful.

Controversy upon controversy

In a best-case scenario, the notion of steering a natural disaster is an ethical dilemma.

Saving New York City from a direct hit could, theoretically, put people in New England in harm's way. Is that ethical?

Authors say that's a question for others in the future.

"We are focused for now on developing the science and engineering capacity, and are cognizant of the ethical and control issues, but not focused on them at this point," Lall said.

Critics say that hurdle is gigantic.

Storms involve complex flows originating over a wide region and evolving in complicated ways. "And even if humans could move storms, the political, international and legal fallout would be so great that it would never happen," said Robert Rauber, a director emeritus in the Department of Climate, Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois, via email.

Previous cloud-seeding controversies

Cloud seeding is now at the center of the rise in weather‑control conspiracy narratives after disasters, such as the tragic Texas floods of 2025 that killed dozens of people, many of them children. After the floods, viral claims alleged a nearby cloud‑seeding operation caused the disaster, according to CBS News. Meteorologists said there was "zero evidence" of that claim, and that seeding can only modestly enhance rainfall – not create catastrophic floods.

Internationally, after record rainfall and flooding in the United Arab Emirates in April 2024, social media widely blamed cloud seeding, according to AFP. However, scientists and officials said no seeding occurred during the storm, and pointed instead to natural weather systems and climate change.

Doyle Rice is a national correspondent for USA TODAY, with a focus on weather and climate.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Scientists mull controversial plan to steer hurricanes

Reporting by Doyle Rice, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

This story was originally published June 27, 2026 at 3:02 AM.