The USWB’s meteorologists finally relented to public pressure and launched an in-depth research program in 1955. This led farmers’ associations, such as the Cherry Growers of Beaumont, CA, to pool their resources and commission their own citizen science research, hoping to provide sufficient evidence to demand the AEC no longer detonate first and ask questions later. More importantly, possession of atomic weapons was the exclusive purview of a “cult of Q-clearance” that enjoyed a complete monopoly on its research. The benefit of exploding bombs laced with deadly radiation was far murkier. Cloud seeding at least promised potential benefits. While there were analogical similarities between atom weather and cloud seeding, there were crucial differences. The House Committee on Armed Services held a hearing to consider Rogers’s motion on 23 June, in which statements from all the branches of the Armed Forces, the Federal Civil Defense Agency, and USWB unanimously agreed that there was no connection between the two. Many people did not find these types of quips amusing- they felt the AEC’s attitude toward the public was “deprecating,” “pontificating,” and “smart-alecky.” Growing demands that the AEC be held accountable for the disaster prompted a Massachusetts congressional representative, Edith Rogers, to file a resolution calling for a congressional inquiry.

Dismayed with the invective hurled toward him and his colleagues, Lester Machta, head of the Special Projects Division of the USWB, quipped how curious it was that no one had yet blamed a nuclear explosion for a sunny day. Government meteorologists repeatedly denied the possibility, arguing the bomb was “puny” when held up against the awesome powers of nature.

Atom weather panic undermined public confidence in their assurance scientific experts could control any of the environmental risks from nuclear testing. The ensuing uproar in the wake of the tornadoes made AEC experts duck for cover. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0 License.

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