Since we don’t have Storm’s power to conjure up a hailstorm or aim a thunderbolt at our enemy’s head, we have to settle for a process called disaster mitigation. It’s a process we non-X-Men use to slow down hurricanes and tornadoes.

Weather scientists believe that tropical storms derive their force from evaporated water, which transfers heat into the atmosphere. To ward off this evaporation, scientists propose coating the sea in a hurricane’s path with an oily film just a few microns thick. The tests haven’t been successful yet, but researchers are storming ahead to find a solution.

Meanwhile the R&D firm Atmospheric and Environmental Research are also working on an anti-hurricane angle. Taking their cue from chaos theory they believe the right jolt of energy can knock a hurricane off course or even dissipate it before landfall.

Field tests are in the works to get energy through the atmospheric column with microwave downlinks from satellites.

•  Before disaster mitigation there was cloud seeding. It is very similar to a rain dance only you use silver iodide instead of chants and movements.
• While on the topic if cloud seeding, read about Operation Popeye – the weather modification project the US conjured up to extent the monsoon season in North Vietnam during the war.
• Droughts, floods and heavy storms: Global warming is wreaking havoc with the weather
• Everything you need to know about meteorology
• Learn about the structure and different stages of development of hurricanes. Then experience flying through a three-dimensional one
• The 32 different shapes, sizes and colours of tornadoes
• People that actually chase after tornadoes? Yip, they really do exist and are called Storm chasers...