Screenshot of a Facebook post taken on September 30, 2024
Screenshots of this claim were spread elsewhere on social media. The X user who first aired the allegations acknowledged it was a “troll post” on September 28, but shared a similar claim two days later.
Helen made landfall in the Florida Panhandle on September 26 as a Category 4 hurricane, stranding residents, destroying homes, and leaving millions without power. The National Weather Service warned of “catastrophic and potentially life-threatening” flooding as the storm moved inland and the death toll reached at least 130 on Oct. 1.
The disaster has shaken up an already tense campaign just five weeks after the final showdown between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. President Trump quickly claimed political bias and accused the Biden administration of inaction.
“He’s lying,” President Joe Biden responded on Sept. 30, citing the White House’s continued response to the devastating storm (archived here).
HAARP uses the world’s most powerful radio frequency transmitters to study the physical processes at work in the upper regions of the atmosphere. It has long been the subject of conspiracy theories, including claims that it can manipulate the weather.
Recent allegations are similarly baseless.
“The tragic loss of life and widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Helen serves as a sobering reminder of the immense power of natural disasters. HAARP Director Jessica Matthews said in an Oct. 1 email (archived here).
Howard Diamond, director of atmospheric science and modeling at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Air Resources Institute, agreed (archived here).
“HAARP had nothing to do with the formation of Hurricane Helen, the formation of other hurricanes, or the occurrence of any other natural weather phenomenon,” he said in a Sept. 30 email.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks has operated the program since it was transferred from the U.S. Air Force in 2015 (archives here).
“Radio waves in the frequency range that HAARP transmits are not absorbed by the troposphere or stratosphere, the two levels of the atmosphere that produce Earth’s weather,” the initiative’s FAQ page (archived here) states. .
“There is no way to control the weather because there is no interaction.”
How hurricanes occur
Major storms such as blizzards and hurricanes are caused by global weather patterns and require specific atmospheric conditions to form.
“Hurricane Helen’s origins, like all hurricanes, were natural given the right conditions of sea surface temperature and upper atmospheric winds,” Diamond said.
Diagram explaining hurricane formation
Claire Pecullier Sophie Lamisa FP
Ella Gilbert, a meteorologist at the British Antarctic Survey (archived here), previously told AFP: “Heatwaves, droughts, storms and floods are all caused by a variety of conditions in the atmosphere, and are often caused by random fluctuations in the weather. This is the result of a combination of event. ”
She said it “makes no sense” to raise the idea that technology is causing such extreme events.
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season was less crowded than expected (archive here), but scientists say climate change and warmer-than-average ocean temperatures likely played a role in the rapid intensification of storms. states.
Florida voters influenced by Helen
The Florida Department of State told AFP it was working with county election officials to address damage to infrastructure and polling places, the safety and availability of poll workers, and mail-in voting.
“The Florida Department of State will continue to follow up with regulators during this period as needs change,” a department spokesperson said in a Sept. 30 email.
The state has taken steps to ensure access to ballots after past storms.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has issued an emergency executive order in response to Hurricane Ian that changes election procedures and expands voting options for displaced residents and other affected people ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. (Archived here, here, and here).
You can read more about AFP’s coverage of misinformation about the 2024 US election here.
