The sensational claim that UFOs have been “caught manipulating storms” is a recurring theme in popular culture and conspiracy theories, but it lacks any credible scientific or official support. While videos and eyewitness accounts of unusual lights or objects during storms circulate online, these reports are almost always attributed to misidentified atmospheric phenomena, human-made technology, or hoaxes. The scientific community and government agencies, including the Department of Defense’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), have provided prosaic explanations for the vast majority of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs).
For instance, many strange lights or objects seen during storms can be explained by natural atmospheric events that are often misunderstood. These include things like sprites, which are mᴀssive, brief electrical discharges that appear high above storm clouds, or ball lightning, a rare and still not fully understood phenomenon where a glowing sphere appears during a thunderstorm. Even a simple, bright planet like Venus or a satellite can be misperceived as a maneuvering object, especially when viewed from an unusual angle or through a camera lens. The human tendency to seek patterns and explanations for the unknown often leads to connecting these unusual but natural occurrences to extraterrestrial activity.
Furthermore, there is no scientific basis to support the idea that any enтιтy, extraterrestrial or otherwise, is capable of manipulating the weather on a grand scale. While some human weather modification activities like cloud seeding exist, they are on a very small scale and are not powerful enough to control or create major storms. The kind of large-scale weather manipulation suggested by these claims would require an immense amount of energy and technology far beyond anything that has been observed or is even theoretically possible. Therefore, the “shocking discovery” of UFOs manipulating storms remains firmly in the realm of fiction, serving as an exciting, albeit baseless, narrative rather than a verified scientific finding.
