Trump idea to fire nuclear weapons at hurricanes dismissed by own government: ‘Needless to say this is not a good idea’

‘I got it. I got it. Why don’t we nuke them?’ US president reportedly said of tropical storms

Donald Trump’s idea to fire nuclear weapons into hurricanes to prevent them hitting the US has been dismissed by his own government as “not a good idea”.

The president is said to have raised the idea of bombing tropical storms on numerous occasions with national security officials since 2017, Axios reported.

But according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Hurricane Research Division, such an approach would be almost certain to fail and would likely trigger “devastating” radioactive fallout.

“During each hurricane season, there always appear suggestions that one should simply use nuclear weapons to try and destroy the storms,” the NOAA says on its website under the heading, “Tropical Cyclone Modification and Myth”.

“Apart from the fact that this might not even alter the storm, this approach neglects the problem that the released radioactive fallout would fairly quickly move with the tradewinds to affect land areas and cause devastating environmental problems. Needless to say, this is not a good idea.”

The NOAA, an agency within the Department of Commerce, goes on to detail how a hurricane releases far more energy than a nuclear bomb, so would likely remain unaffected by the explosion, and in any case making sure the weapon landed in the eye of the storm would present a “formidable” challenge.

“Brute force interference with hurricanes doesn’t seem promising,” the NOAA adds in its brief, which was published on its website last year.

The Met Office, the UK’s national weather service, told The Independent it had no comment on Mr Trump’s idea.

During one hurricane briefing at the White House, Mr Trump said, “I got it. I got it. Why don’t we nuke them?” one source who was there told Axios.

The briefer, who the source claimed was “knocked back on his heels”, is said to have told the president they would “look into” the possibility.

“People were astonished,” the source said. “After the meeting ended, we thought, ‘What the f***? What do we do with this?’”

Later, other officials were also reportedly briefed on the president’s remarks, which were recorded in a National Security Council (NSC) memorandum.

Another NSC memo from 2017 also reportedly details Mr Trump asking whether hurricanes could be bombed with conventional weapons in order to prevent them hitting the US.

“His goal – to keep a catastrophic hurricane from hitting the mainland – is not bad,” another senior White House official, who had been briefed on the president’s remarks, told Axios. “His objective is not bad.”

Mr Trump on Monday morning denied the reports.

"The story by Axios that President Trump wanted to blow up large hurricanes with nuclear weapons prior to reaching shore is ridiculous. I never said this. Just more FAKE NEWS!" he tweeted.

Mr Trump has a history of reckless suggestions about the uses of nuclear weapons.

In 2016, the then-presidential candidate refused to rule out using nuclear weapons on European soil, and the following year reportedly asked a foreign policy advisor, “Why can’t we use nuclear weapons?”