File this under the list of things that shouldn't need to be said. But unfortunately, history has shown that people, specifically Floridians, need to be reminded not to shoot their firearms into the hurricane.

First of all, guns will not stop a hurricane. Like, at all. So if you are looking to save your neighbors, a flew well-placed rounds of buckshot will not do it.

But second of all, the laws of physics still apply inside of hurricanes. What comes up must come down. It is never a good idea to fire a gun if you don't know where the bullet will land. And the problem with hurricanes is that when a bullet is fired into the cyclone, there really is no telling where it will land.

This amazingly well-done graphic explains to Floridians why it is a horrible idea to fire guns into a hurricane.



Obviously, it was made in jest. Hurricanes don't have "weak points" or "armor" as the graphic suggests. But the problems with firing a gun into a hurricane are still real. Not only does a tropical cyclone have the ability to move bullets in a circular motion, but these storms can actually catch the bullets and push them into higher altitudes.

The result is that a bullet can find its way higher in altitude than it ever could have reached on its own propulsion and into a location nowhere near the actual gunshot.

When you normally fire a gun, the bullet is deadly because of the horizontal force behind it. The force from the gunpowder igniting in the cartridge or chamber is what forces the bullet down the barrel and fast enough to do damage. Gravity plays a role in slowing the bullet down and over a big enough distance, can cause a bullet to fall short of the target. Interestingly enough, the rotation of a bullet actually causes it to rise after it leaves the barrel, so gravity ends up being a counter-force. But I don't want to get off track with the science of ballistics...

The point is that when you shoot a bullet straight up, or almost straight up, it isn't the actual force behind the gunshot that makes a bullet deadly. It ends up being, in large part, gravity. Since hurricanes can actually force bullets higher into the atmosphere, when that bullet finally does fall back down to earth, it will have much more force behind it.

You know what, I am going to stop this right here. I don't need to explain to you why you shouldn't shoot firearms into tropical cyclones. Just don't do it. Don't ever fire a gun unless you know the bullet will land somewhere safe.

Put your rifle away and just start drinking like the rest of us waiting for the storm to pass...