Playing God: Can We Control the Weather? 8/05 discovery ch.

[LarryWx]

Couple things
2. The Oct. 1947 storm probably didn't change direction due to cloud seeding,...

For the most part, I feel your statement is a good one. However, one may argue that using hurricane
weakening methods could conceivably INDIRECTLY (NOT DIRECTLY) cause a direction change by lowering the relevant mean steering level for a particular storm IF somehow convection is reduced sufficiently due to
the weakening agent. Does anyone have any thoughts about this idea with regard to the 1947 storm or any other one? Whereas I would think that it is unlikely that this was the main cause of what happened with the 1947 storm
given that it apparently only barely weakened windwise, I don't think that anyone can give 100% proof that something like this didn't have at least a tiny influence on the sharpness of the left turn. If they are able to significantly weaken a storm, is it possible that the mean steering layer can be lowered enough to allow for a sharp change in the direction of movement?

Any opinions?

[Cyclone1]

My satellite is set. I'll watch Playing God, but I might not take the time to watch Superstorm. Just another disaster movie.

[HURAKAN]

I think people are confusing "modifying the weather" with "controlling the weather."

We can alter or modify the weather, example, Global Warming, but so far, we can't control the weather. You can't say a low pressure where to move. You can't say, "I want to see rain right now, and it rains."

I think this is what the general public is confusing.

[JonathanBelles]

Yay! a full night of weather TV! Both shows should be interesting.

[miamicanes177]

I think people are confusing "modifying the weather" with "controlling the weather."

We can alter or modify the weather, example, Global Warming, but so far, we can't control the weather. You can't say a low pressure where to move. You can't say, "I want to see rain right now, and it rains."

I think this is what the general public is confusing.

Don't tell the China government that. I made a post about what they are up to earlier, and I'll just repeat it here. China has what is called "The Beijing Weather Modification Office." One method used by China to create rain involves firing rockets containing silver iodide into clouds. They look for a "pregnant cloud" and fire the rockets to "induce" rain. They also have success in preventing rain. Everyone knows about their guarantee of clear skies for the 2008 Olympics opening ceremony. They've been working tirelessly to perfect their technique for the big show. Below are a couple of sites showing what they have accomplished.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-05/06/content_583222.htm
http://en.beijing2008.cn/culture/ceremonies/n214112820.shtml
http://www.chinaeconomicreview.com/olympics/category/weather/

[HURAKAN]

To me that's still modifying the weather, not controlling it. They should work on controlling typhoon's movement and intensity. That would be a major accomplishment, not seeding clouds. Most likely, you can't control a typhoon.

[miamicanes177]

:uarrow: To me that's still modifying the weather, not controlling it. They should work on controlling typhoon's movement and intensity. That would be a major accomplishment, not seeding clouds. Most likely, you can't control a typhoon.

Ok but in your post you said, "you can't say I want to see rain right now, and it rains". I was just showing that the science in China is at that point.

[HURAKAN]

:uarrow: To me that's still modifying the weather, not controlling it. They should work on controlling typhoon's movement and intensity. That would be a major accomplishment, not seeding clouds. Most likely, you can't control a typhoon.

Ok but in your post you said, "you can't say I want to see rain right now, and it rains". I was just showing that the science in China is at that point.

I meant like instantly, but thanks for showing that the Chinese are working on it. By the way, they should work on making the Gobi more productive, you know, a little more fertile than what it's now.

[HURAKAN]

now!!

[HURAKAN]

They got something wrong,

a hurricane/typhoon starts at 74 mph, not 75 mph!!!

[Weatherfreak14]

watching it now, they have got some facts wrong.

[HURAKAN]

Up to now, everything they have showed is science fiction or very expensive to do.

Could you imagine cloud seeding Typhoon Tip!!!!

The Chaos Theory sounds even more chaotic.

[Tampa Bay Hurricane]

Interesting idea, but would it be practical?
It's very difficult to do this with hurricanes...
What the Chinese government has done is have
some impact or slight control of weather...now
that itself is interesting..but would this really work
with a hurricane?

[Hybridstorm_November2001]

I can not believe the Professor would seriously suggest that you could use chaos theory to create a Short Wave to deflect a hurricane! How could anyone know ahead of time how the system would evolve and interact with other systems in the 72 hr, or more, his hypothetical plan would require to work? The way he acts so certain that everything would go according to plan is laughable, and totally goes against all the tenants of the very theory he claims supports it.

[HURAKAN]

I loved the expression that the flapping of a wing of a butterfly in Brazil can create a tornado in Texas.

Be careful when you jump, you may trigger an earthquake in Japan or a landslide in California. It's just laughable.

[Sanibel]

That stupid big stormy hurricane about 5 miles wide just off the coast was laughable. Why do they have to treat people like idiots? That show was excruciatingly dumb. Why would both pilots be knocked unconscious by turbulence? Dumb!

[Cyclone1]

I loved the expression that the flapping of a wing of a butterfly in Brazil can create a tornado in Texas.

Be careful when you jump, you may trigger an earthquake in Japan or a landslide in California. It's just laughable.

And, according to "Superstorm", a girl stirring up a bit of sand caused the worst tropical cyclone in history. I'm open to this metaphor about the butterfly. A specific supertyphoon (I forget the year and name) was tracked back to a single supercell, which came from a single thunderstorm, which came from a single cloud, which came from a single ripple of instability in the air. What caused the ripple? Most likely not a ceiling fan in Los Angeles, but that's not my point. Every thing has cause and effect. Who knows what a tiny ripple could swell into?

[HURAKAN]

I didn't waste my time seeing "Superstorm" and I feel I wasted my time seeing this program. I didn't provide any new information to the public. Just commented on what we already knew and how dangerous hurricanes are.

At the end the answer to the most important question (the title of the program) is NO. We can't control weather, we can modified it a little bid, so far in a minor scale. But we can't control weather, and that's all there is.

I agree in what Cyclone1 said, "everything has cause and effect." Since humans ventured into the tropics, there are accounts of terrible storms swallowing ships and its crew, aside from a few large serpents that may be thrown into the tale to make it a little bit more spooky!!! Today we study them even before they are born, and spend more than 7 threads on occasions in just an invest, aka 99L!!! But, here is the most important question, if we can reach the civilization level of controlling the weather, what effect will that have in the balance of Earth's climate? That, I believe, it's the most important question we should ask ourselves before taking real actions. Remember that we live in a giant laboratory and there's only on atmosphere to experiment with!!!

[Extremeweatherguy]

The most absurd part of the show, IMO, was the scientist claiming that hurricanes are stronger now due to global warming based on data dating back to ONLY 1970! lol. It almost seemed like a joke. How can you draw such conclusions with only 30-40 years of data...especially when most of that time was during a quiet period in the Atlantic?

BTW...The movie after the show was horrible too. I couldn't stand it! It was so inaccurate that it made me want to call up Discovery channel and yell at them. lol. The worst part was when the hurricane eyewall hitting NYC was dipicted as a giant shelf cloud with lots of lightning. I mean did they do any real research before making this movie? It sure didn't seem like it.

[HURAKAN]

Agree. Also, reliable track of cyclones in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific began in the 1980s. Conclusions that for the normal viewer may make sense, but for weather people is just nuts!!!