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Federal forecasters have been forced to deny they control the weather after Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and others spread misinformation online.
The conspiracy spread by Greene cited information shared on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s website. She repeatedly claimed earlier this month that “they” and the government were manipulating and controlling the weather and referenced a page about weather modification. Her comments drew a swift rebuke from President Joe Biden, who said the congresswoman’s comments were “beyond ridiculous” and “so stupid.”
Even other GOP members sought to shut her down.
In reality, NOAA clarified Wednesday, it does not modify the weather or fund, participate in, or oversee cloud seeding or any weather modification.
“NOAA is required by law* to track weather modification activities by others, including cloud seeding, but has no authority to regulate those activities,” it said.
Cloud seeding, the only common weather modification activity currently practiced in the US, attempts to alter the process of a cloud or storm by releasing a substance into the air. It can improve a cloud’s ability to produce rain or snow, improving mountain snowpack. It is typically done by private companies in western mountain basins, or by those in the desert southwest. The method has been used for decades.
While NOAA had provided support for research into whether hurricane intensity could be modified between 1962 and 1982, known as Project STORMFURY, efforts were not successful in modifying hurricanes and the project was discontinued. NOAA has not attempted anything similar it since.
The Weather Modification Reporting Act of 1972 requires anyone who intends to engage in weather modification activities in the US to provide a report to NOAA Administrator Richard Spinrad at least 10 days prior to beginning the activity. Those reports are filed and listed on NOAA’s Central Library website.
In addition to setting the record straight about “nonexistent weather manipulation technology,” the administration also sought to debunk claims about steering hurricanes into specific communities and the use of solar geoengineering. Solar geoengineering refers to techniques proposed to cool the Earth by reflecting solar radiation back into space.
“No technology exists that can create, destroy, modify, strengthen or steer hurricanes in any way, shape or form. All hurricanes, including Helene and Milton, are natural phenomena that form on their own due to aligning conditions of the ocean and atmosphere,” NOAA said.
Solar geoengineering, according to NOAA, is not taking place at scale anywhere in the world.
NOAA’s fact check drew swift reaction on social media from meteorologists.
“Sad this has to be done … But here we are, peak 2024, with NOAA out there stomping the clown show,” NBC 6 South Florida meteorologist Ryan Phillips wrote on X.
“The mass proliferation of conspiracies and willful ignorance is uniquely American. Only here do the uneducated take pride in being uneducated to this extent,” said atmospheric scientist Matthew Cappucci.
Since Hurricane Helene hit the Southeast earlier this month, both the White House and FEMA have also been forced to issue their own fact sheets, in an attempt to dispel rampant rumors.
