Monday, March 23, 2020

Tame the Tornadoes with Cloud Seeding



Mere weather modification has always been a hard sell and is never going to happen except in exceptional situations.  Tornado taming is quite another matter all together.  It happens to be welcome.

We already have the aircrews and the birds sitting pretty well on the right airfields.  Better yet it supports an excellent training protocol which is about as close to war as you might ask.  It is all a slight adjustment of current capabilities for a new objective.


There is also enough time after original detection to scramble planes onto the target and enojugh time to do damage.  It is no trick either to follow a front as well and using available fields.   

Eliminating perhaps two thirds of all tornados would be a huge win.  Eliminating the big ones wiould be better still.  It sounds as though this can be pulled off.

Throw in citizen spotting and it may even be possible to cut the bimpact to a handful 0of small events and a lost roof or two.
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Tame the Tornadoes with Cloud Seeding



I send my condolences to the families of the 25 people who died in Tennessee and 88 injured in Nashville and Putnum County as tornadoes erupted on March 4, 2020. Additionally billions of dollars damage occurred destroying hundreds of homes and businesses. The tornado track was 60 miles long. A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that extends from a thunderstorm and comes into contact with the ground, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The U.S. experiences more tornadoes than any other country in the world, according to Lloyds of London.


I suggest tornados should be studied and a scientific advisory plan developed to stop them from forming. Our Air Force or Air National Guard should be fighting the tornadoes to save lives and homes. According to the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, tornadoes form when the winds inside a thunderstorm begin blowing in different directions. Warm air from the South interacts with cold air causing a wind shear that causes the clouds to begin to rotate. If that rotation is then caught in the large updraft caused by a super cell storm, the spinning tightens and begins to form a funnel. Initially, the tornado has a good source of warm, moist inflow to power it. Once the funnel is formed, rain and hail causes the funnel cloud to extend towards the ground, causing a tornado. One tornado traveled 45 miles with destruction almost a mile wide.
On 3 May 1999, a massive was observed near some of the most destructive tornadoes in history during the early evening in Moore, Oklahoma. The tornado covered 38 miles (61 km) during its 85-minute existence, destroying thousands of homes, killing 36 people (plus an additional five indirectly), and leaving US$1 billion in damage

The deadly tornado that ripped through Moore, Oklahoma “completely destroyed” the homes of 140 airmen stationed at nearby Tinker Air Force Base and “at least partially damaged” the homes of 196 other airmen, said Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh. Further, two airmen lost family members in the violent windstorm, Several UFOs were spotted during the 17 minute time the Moore, Oklahoma tornado.
Storm spotters look for low bands of ragged bands of low cumulus clouds extending from the main storm tower usually to the southeast or south. The presence of inflow bands suggests that the storm is gathering low-level air from several miles away.
If the inflow bands have a spiraling nature to them, it suggests the presence of rotation.
This is the beginning of a tornado and the key hook is forming.
The most destructive and deadly tornadoes occur from super cells, which are rotating thunderstorms with a well-defined radar circulation called a mesocyclone. (Supercells can also produce damaging hail, severe non-tornado winds, unusually frequent lightning, and flash floods.) Tornado formation is believed to be dictated mainly by things which happen on the storm scale, in and around the mesocyclone.”
STAGE-1                                             STAGE-2
STAGE-1 –Before thunderstorms develop, a change in wind direction and an increase in wind speed with increasing height creates an invisible, horizontal spinning effect in the lower atmosphere. This called a mesocyclone.
STAGE-2 -Rising air within the thunderstorm updraft tilts the rotating air from horizontal to vertical. A low level moisture cloud “wall cloud” is usually present in rotation mode below the base level of super cell.
A Thunderstorm cloud is called cumulonimbus cloud. They can range in height from 30,000 feet to 70,000 feet into the atmosphere
Recent theories and results from the VORTEX 2 program suggest that once a mesocyclone is underway, tornado development is related to the temperature differences across the edge of downdraft air wrapping around the mesocyclone. Studies of tornado formation also indicate that it can happen with very little temperature variation.
The wall of air reaching to near the cloud tops provides much of the energy for the Tornado

Stage 3 Cutting or damaging the wall will likely tame the tornado.
STAGE-3– An area of rotation, 2-6 miles wide, now extends through much of the storm. Most strong and violent tornadoes form within this area of strong rotation. The tornado forms out of the rotating wall cloud.
We know tornadoes need a source of instability (heat, moisture, etc.) and a larger-scale property of rotation (vorticity) to keep going. One process around a thunderstorm which can rob the tornado of either instability or vorticity is relatively cold outflow–the flow of wind out of the precipitation area of a shower or thunderstorm. Many tornadoes have been observed to go away soon after being hit by cold temperature outflow.

Tornadoes generally form when “warm moist Gulf air meets cold Canadian air and dry air from the Rockies. The most destructive tornadoes occur from supercells–which are rotating thunderstorms with a well-defined radar circulation called a mesocyclone. Recent theories and results from the VORTEX program suggest that once a mesocyclone is underway, tornado development is related to the temperature differences across the edge of downdraft air wrapping around the mesocyclone.

Properly placed the dry ice or silver oxide can equalize the temperatures taming the tornado.

A wall cloud is an isolated cloud lowering attached to the rain-free base of the thunderstorm.
The wall cloud is usually to the rear of the visible precipitation area. A wall cloud that may produce a tornado usually exists for 10–20 minutes before a tornado appears. A wall cloud may also persistently rotate (often visibly), have strong surface winds flowing into it, and may have rapid vertical motion indicated by small cloud elements quickly rising into the rain-free base. The wall goes from the actual tornado to the top of the cloud. (Possible attack point before tornado appears.
As the storm intensifies, the updraft draws in low-level air from several miles around. Some low-level air is pulled into the updraft from the rain area. This rain-cooled air is very humid; the moisture in the rain-cooled air quickly condenses below the rain-free base to form the wall cloud. (Possible attack point)

The rear flank downdraft is a downward rush of air on the back side of the storm that descends along with the tornado. It can look like curtains of rain wrapping around the cloud base circulation. The rear flank downdraft is the motion in the storm that causes the hook echo feature on radar. (Possible attack point
A condensation funnel is made up of water droplets and extends downward from the base of the thunderstorm. If it is in contact with the ground it is a tornado; otherwise it is a funnel cloud. Dust and debris beneath the condensation funnel confirm a tornado’s presence. Coordination between radar, ground observers, and airborne aircraft equipped with suitable chemicals such as dry ice have the potential to disrupt the tornados, excellent comprehensive list of questions and answers about tornadoes can be found here: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/
Below is radar readout of the May 20, 2013, tornado. The actual tornado early in its track is located in the southern reddest hook near the bottom of the image.
The beaver’s tail is a smooth, flat cloud band extending from the eastern edge of the rain-free base to the east or northeast. It usually skirts around the southern edge of the precipitation area. It also suggests the presence of rotation. (Possible attack point)

We know this movement of air can be tracked by Doppler weather radar and is likely the key to defeating the formation of the Tornado. The radar hook echo is one of the classic hallmarks of tornado-producing super cell thunderstorms as seen on weather radar. The echo is produced by rain, hail, or even debris being wrapped around the super cell.

Notice Radar Red Hook Tornado at bottom of radar data that indicates tornado is forming.
The National Weather Service considers the presence of a hook echo as sufficient to justify issuing a tornado warning since it is recognized as a sign of tornado development
MSSL Researchers use 3-D computer models environment cause a thunderstorm to what changes in the
NSSL is working to simulate storms that produce tornadoes in computer models to better understand how they form and behave. The Air Force could gain tremendous support from the American people if they could Evict Tornadoes. Thanks to NSSL.
Let’s Fight the Tornados
The basic plan would be to spread silver iodide agents or dry ice to form millions of microscopic ice crystals cooling the warmer air. Surplus T-s Harvard aircraft were fitted with racks under each wing containing 32 railroad fuses that were impregnated with silver iodide. These were ignited individually or all at once, depending upon the threat. Working with ground units, the aircraft would lay a plume of silver iodide in front of approaching cumulonimbus clouds (CBs) with noticeable effect.
Large, active CBs were reduced to nothing. Hail storms were greatly reduced.
T-6 Harvard. Cloud seeding aircraft
I suggest research and large amounts of silver iodide, or other chemicals dumped into critical areas of the clouds could defeat the formation of the tornado since they are effective in changing the physical chemistry of super cooled clouds.
A C-5 Galaxy aircraft can carry a standard: payload of 240,000 pounds of dry ice or chemicals that could serious effect a mesocyclone, is located at Lackland AFB, Texas; Maximum payload capacity of the C-17 is 170,900 pounds with a service ceiling of 45,000 feet based on each coast.
A C-130Js maximum load is 44,000 lbs at 28,000 feet ceiling Little Rock AFB, Ark. has C-130 s
Air National Guard locations Little Rock AFB, Arkansas; Louisville IAP, Kentucky; and Greater Peoria Airport, Illinois.
Map shows number of tornadoes this year.
When I was in Vietnam, the Air Force extended the Monsoon season by over a month by cloud-seeding with silver iodide crystals using two C-130s and two F-4s on the Ho Chi Menh trail. I encourage the Air Force or Air National Guard or Reserves to disperse silver oxide or dry ice into the potential tornado manufacturing clouds. We could make it rain in Vietnam on enemy roads, so the Air Force has more capability in weather control than the public realizes. Three C-130 Hercules aircraft and two F-4C Phantom aircraft based at Udorn Air Force Base Thailand flew two sorties per day on weather reconnaissance missions and cloud seeding. This knowledge coupled with the study of tornados could lead to calming of the tornado threat. A fraction of the money spent in faraway places with strange sounding names could save American lives and enhance the Air Force image. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_seeding.
The Beijing Olympics inaugural ceremony held on 8 August 2008 was spectacular, not just in terms of the show but also because Chinese scientists promised and delivered on having a clear day. This was achieved by firing over 1100 small rockets into the sky over Beijing to disperse clouds that could potentially have caused rain. China continues to be a serious advocate of cloud seeding for weather modification, spending between $60 and $90 million dollars a year on projects to increase rain over Beijing and arid northern China.
The National Severe Storms Laboratory NSSL Site Information –

Flares loaded with cloud-seeding material fire from an aircraft’s wings as it flies through a cloud.
EVICT Tornadoes Weather Modification
Growing up in Illinois, I have seen a tornado form as the clouds move in and a violently rotating column of air occurred about a thousand feet above me.
I always felt if I had a rocket or a radar beam weapon, plane dropping dry ice I could have stopped it from forming. The Filer family joins the rest of the country world in grieving the loss of life and massive destruction in the Midwest. Tornadoes and thunderstorms claimed at least 25 lives in Tennessee. The Joplin, Missouri tornado that killed 158 people in May 2011.

C-130 aircraft
In 1925, the infamous U.S. Tristate twister hit parts of Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, claiming 695 lives. Because tornados kill people and wreck property, costing billions of dollars yearly, a force of tornado aircraft fighters should be developed! They could be set up similar to tornado chasers with weapons to defeat the tornados. https://www.weather.gov/ffc/20190303_tornadoes
We know tornadoes need a source of instability (heat, moisture, etc.) and a larger-scale property of rotation (vorticity) to keep going. One process around a thunderstorm which can rob the tornado of either instability or vorticity is relatively cold outflow–the flow of wind out of the precipitation area of a shower or thunderstorm. Many tornadoes have been observed to go away soon after being hit by cold temperature outflow.
Typical Destructive Tornado
Tornados generally form when “warm moist Gulf air meets cold Canadian air and dry air from the Rockies. The most destructive tornadoes occur from super cells–which are rotating thunderstorms with a well-defined radar circulation called a mesocyclone. Recent theories and results from the VORTEX program suggest that once a mesocyclone is underway, tornado development is related to the temperature differences across the edge of downdraft air wrapping around the mesocyclone. Properly placed the dry ice can equalize the temperatures taming the tornado.
Tornado fighters set up west of towns could use small exact distance rockets to strategically place and detonate safe, yet cloud dispersing explosives or chemicals. Various methods could be tested to determine what effects the super cell that forms the tornado. Perhaps a radar beam could be focused and tuned to ruin the magnetic lattice of the tornado.
The military owns micro wave beam technology that might be effective in stopping the forming of a tornado. We can now produce clouds that create rain; perhaps these machines operating in a reverse mode would take the energy out of the clouds. I’m not sure what would work effectively but now is the time to start developing procedures to defeat the tornados. A method is needed for stopping the swirling action that leads to the formation of the tornado. With experimentation we might find a simple solution.
Doppler radar and sophisticated computer graphics storm chasers have been intercepting tornados for years. It’s not an exact science yet but towns are often given several hours warning time. As the storm intensifies, the hook can become very prominent on radar in the area of the storm that can spawn a tornado.
Ground or air based units could intercept suspicious tornado forming clouds before they touch down, Dumping dry ice into a cloud may be effective in cooling its energy. Large aircraft can dump tons of ice, coal dust, or cloud damping products at minimal cost. High explosives dropped or shot into the clouds may be effective in stopping the swirling action. It’s time to study and experiment. C-5, C-117, and C-130 aircraft could drop tons of dry ice or smaller conventional weaponry into critical super cells. It would certainly be worth trying as an experiment. Congress would have to deny any legal problems that might occur.
A tornado’s vortex can reach speeds of over 300 miles per hour and travel at 75 MPH. I have flown in hurricanes and winds well above a hundred knots. Tornados are fragile and if any variable is changed it becomes unstable and will disintegrate of its own volition. Military transports, drones, or tankers might be able to calm our skies. Talk to your congressman about developing a way to fight tornadoes and hurricanes…I have flown into severe storms when necessary using radar to penetrate the least rain and though it is brumby and scary as the wings moved up and down we made it through with KB-50s, C-141s and C130s. With warmer weather the tornadoes will likely increase in number and size.
Look and Listen for large hail, heavy rain, strong winds, frequent intense lightning …bulge with a rotary motion at the base of the thunderstorm cloud …loud roar like the sound of a jet or train.
Seek Safe Shelter
A basement is best. Otherwise choose ground-floor center rooms surrounded by other rooms. Never choose upstairs locations because tornado wind speeds increase with height above the ground.
Choose rooms on the north and east sides of your shelter if no interior rooms are available. Stay near the innermost walls. Avoid rooms on the south and west, because tornados usually travel from southwest to northeast.
Choose a small closet or bathroom, because small rooms are less susceptible to collapse. Take shelter within the bathtub if there are no glass tub enclosures or large mirrors nearby.

How to Protect Yourself and Your Family

Stay calm.

Seek shelter IMMEDIATELY!

Keep a portable TV/radio and flashlight in your shelter.
Wear shoes to protect your feet from broken glass and other debris left by the storm.
Protect head and chest- crouch, face to floor, hands behind head.
Cover yourself with blankets, pillow, mattress, s or coats.
Hide under sturdy furniture.
Avoid candles, gas lanterns and oil lamps.
In schools and offices: seek designated shelter in interior rooms or hallway’s on ground floor, or lowest floor possible. Avoid auditoriums and gymnasiums.
In shopping malls, seek the smaller interior shops on the ground floor.
In shopping centers, avoid large open rooms as well as the south and west walls.
Evacuate mobile homes and vehicles! Seek shelter in substantial structure, ditch or culvert. The hundreds of lives lost and billions in damage deserve a coordinated plan to Tame the Tornadoes. Catastrophes
2019 Tornadoes: Preliminary NOAA reports show there were 1,431 tornadoes in 2019 through November compared to 1,060 for the same period in 2018. Tornadoes killed 38 people from January to November 2019. The average annual loss from severe convective storms is $11.23 billion. Insurance companies would likely be willing to provide some funding. To prevent tornadoes since they create more damage than hur

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