GeoColor satellite image of Hurricane Milton off the coast of Florida
Hurricane Milton pictured in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida. Image by AP PHOTO

Claims HAARP caused Hurricane Milton are ‘nonsense’, experts say

James McManagan October 11, 2024
WHAT WAS CLAIMED

Hurricane Milton is being controlled by the HAARP facility.

OUR VERDICT

False. HAARP cannot control or create hurricanes.

AAP FACTCHECK – As Hurricane Milton barrels across Florida’s Gulf Coast, a torrent of claims about controlled weather and corrupt emergency officials have surged on social media.

Millions of people were ordered to evacuate their homes across the US state’s coastline, with officials warning of “life-threatening” conditions.

A number of Facebook posts claim the University of Alaska’s High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP), an atmospheric research facility, created the storm.

AAP FactCheck has debunked numerous claims about the HAARP facility in Alaska, which was previously operated by the US military.

“MILTON IS A MODIFIED AND MANIPULATED HAARP HURRICANE,” one Facebook post is captioned.

Facebook post claiming Hurricane Milton is modified
 Another post insists the hurricane has been modified and manipulated. 

Another post reads: “Haarp in action .!! Florida Tornado milton wake up.”

In a statement to Reuters, a HAARP spokesperson said the facility was not able to “create, modify or manipulate a hurricane”.

Experts have previously told AAP FactCheck that claims attempting to link HAARP to natural disasters are “nonsense” as the facility does not have the power to generate weather.

Specifically, they explained HAARP features a high-frequency transmitter which is used to interact with ionised particles – electrons – in the ionosphere, above 100 km altitude.

Meanwhile weather at ground level is driven by geophysical effects, mostly solar heating, into the neutral atmosphere much nearer the ground.

A video shared widely on Facebook also claims the HAARP facility is “positioned perfectly” in Hurricane Milton’s path.

The video zooms into an underwater Google Street View in the Florida Keys, with the caption suggesting it shows the location of the research facility.

“This video is very eye-opening and had [sic] it for a while, but it just seem [sic] to hit me more after I have been watching hurricane Milton’s path!” the post’s caption reads.

Facebook post with claim about Hurrican Milton and HAARP
 This post seems to claim the HAARP facility is off the shore of Florida. 

However, the location shown has no relation to the Alaska-based HAARP; rather, it depicts Snapper Ledge, a coral reef that is part of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

The aerial-like structures at Snapper Ledge, which many have highlighted as being suspicious, are in fact coral or reef nurseries.

Many posts also claim Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) forecasting towers are responsible for the hurricane.

Operated by the National Weather Service, the towers monitor weather across the US.

“Breaking! Hurricane Milton being controlled by directed energy weapons (NEXRAD & HAARP),” one post reads.

However, Howard Diamond, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, confirmed to fact-checking organisation Science Feedback that neither HAARP nor NEXRAD are capable of modifying weather.

Other Facebook posts claim the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been intentionally causing traffic jams and closing roads to trap residents.

Evacuee Bill Rogers in the gym at River Ridge school, Hurricane Milton
 Many Floridians have been forced to leave their homes and head to evacuation centres. 

“FEMA is closing down roads preventing people from evacuating. They are telling people to turn around and to go home,” one post is captioned.

“I heard the traffic jams are caused by FEMA,” reads another post featuring a photo purportedly depicting a Florida highway clogged with traffic.

The traffic jams, however, were caused by mass evacuation orders issued by state authorities, not road closures ordered by FEMA, according to PolitiFact.

There was a surge in traffic as people heeded evacuation orders and drove north, the Tampa Bay Times and Grice Connect reported.

“FEMA is not blockading people in Florida and preventing evacuations,” the federal emergency agency said in a statement in response to hurricane-related misinformation on its website.

The Verdict

False – The claim is inaccurate.

AAP FactCheck is an accredited member of the International Fact-Checking Network. To keep up with our latest fact checks, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

All information, text and images included on the AAP Websites is for personal use only and may not be re-written, copied, re-sold or re-distributed, framed, linked, shared onto social media or otherwise used whether for compensation of any kind or not, unless you have the prior written permission of AAP. For more information, please refer to our standard terms and conditions.