y ou see how it's done?
y eah, I think I got the hang of it.
y ou better. The boss wiII chew my head off if these cores get messed up.
Don't worry.
We're at 26 feet.
y ou Iet Jason operate the driII?
y eah, he can handIe it.
I didn't do anything.
Give me your hand! Let go of the driII!
Forget it, Jack! It's too Iate!
y ou're not gonna make it!
Jack!
Jack! Give me your hand!
I've got you!
What were you thinking?
-What's happening? -The whoIe damn sheIf is breaking off!
That's what's happening!
We found evidence of a catacIysmic cIimate shift, which occurred 1 0,000 years ago.
The concentration of these naturaI greenhouse gases in the ice cores...
...indicates that runaway warming pushed Earth into an ice age...
...which Iasted two centuries.
I'm confused.
I thought you were taIking about gIobaI warming, not an ice age.
y es, it is a paradox, but gIobaI warming can trigger a cooIing trend. Let me expIain.
The Northern Hemisphere owes its cIimate to the North AtIantic Current.
Heat from the sun arrives at the equator and is carried north by the ocean.
But gIobaI warming is meIting the poIar ice caps and disrupting this fIow.
EventuaIIy it wiII shut down. And when that occurs...
...there goes our warm cIimate.
Excuse me. When do you think this couId happen, professor? When?
I don't know. Maybe in 1 00 years, maybe in 1 000. But what I do know is...
...that if we do not act soon, our chiIdren and grandchiIdren wiII have to pay the price.
And who's going to pay the price of the Kyoto Accord?
It wouId cost the worId's economy hundreds of biIIions of doIIars.
With aII due respect, Mr. Vice President, the cost of doing nothing couId be even higher.
Our cIimate is fragiIe.
At the rate we're burning fossiI fueIs and poIIuting the environment...
...the ice caps wiII soon disappear.
Professor HaII...
...our economy is every bit as fragiIe as the environment.
Perhaps you shouId keep that in mind before making sensationaIist cIaims.
WeII, the Iast chunk of ice that broke off...
...was about the size of Rhode IsIand.
Some peopIe might caII that pretty sensationaI.
Stop global warming! Stop global warming!
I'm at the GIobaI Warming Conference in New DeIhi...
...where, if you can beIieve it, it's snowing.
The coIdest weather on record has thrown the city into chaos...
...with numbers of homeIess peopIe freezing to death.
Taxi!
I enjoyed your testimony, professor. It was very spirited.
Oh, thank you. That's what we're here for, right? Put on a good show?
Quite. I was wondering if I couId taIk to you about your theory on abrupt cIimate shift.
The name's Rapson. Terry Rapson.
-Professor Rapson? Of the HedIand Center? -That's me.
I've read your work on ocean currents.
-What do you say to a spot of tea? -AbsoIuteIy. If we can haiI a cab.
Over here.
Welcome back to Glasgow, Scotland, where Manchester United...
...leads 3- 1 over hometown Celtic.
We return 63 minutes into the second half as Manchester United...
...looks to put the game out of reach. Let's get back to our commentator...
...Donald MacFarland.
What? y eah.
-I just cIosed my eyes for a sec, man. -y eah.
The baby kept us awake aII night.
-And still. -y eah!
Dennis? NOMAD buoy 431 1 is showing a temperature drop of 1 3 degrees.
-y eah? Where is 431 1 ? -WeII, it's....
-Georges Bank. -It's rough seas out there.
Must have knocked it about.
Kick that bIoody baII. Come on!
Come on, kick it now. Kick it!
-Kick it! -Are the Iads winning?
HeIIo, professor. How was India?
Oh, you know what these scientific gatherings are.
AII dancing girIs, wine and parties.
The fury of Hurricane Noelani stunned weather experts yesterday...
...slamming into the island chain with a cataclysmic force never before witnessed.
Meteorologists already believe this to be the strongest hurricane ever recorded....
Are you gonna get that?
It will surely leave a wake of death....
-HeIIo? -I just saw that Sam got an F in caIcuIus.
I'm aware, Jack. I get a copy of his report card too.
Sam is a straight-A student. He doesn't faiI cIasses.
I don't have time to taIk about this now.
Well, maybe you ought to make time.
Excuse me, I'm not the one who's away for months and months at a time.
I just don't understand.
I'll let him explain it. Can you take him to the airport in the morning?
-Sam's getting on a pIane? -He joined the SchoIastic DecathIon Team.
-They're competing in New y ork. -Sam joined a team?
-y eah, I think there's a girI invoIved. -Oh.
Look, can you pick him up at 8:30?
I gotta go because I'm on caII tonight.
Don't be Iate. I don't want him taking a taxi again.
AII right. Okay. I'II be there. Okay? I'II be there.
This morning's weather staff meeting has been moved to level four, room B.
Jack?
I know you're good at rubbing peopIe the wrong way...
...but why wouId you aggravate the vice president?
Because my 1 7-year-oId kid knows more science than he does.
y our 1 7-year-oId kid does not controI our budget.
-Who cares if he hates you. -My son doesn't hate me.
If Raymond Becker puIIs our budget--
-Oh, shit! -Wait-- WiII you--? Jack.
Oh, my God.
-I'm sorry I'm Iate. -Dad, the cab's aIready here.
That's okay. I'II take care of it.
-What are--? -Here you go.
I'm not angry. I'm disappointed.
-Do you want to hear my side of it? -How can there be two sides?
I got every question right on the finaI. Mr. SpengIer faiIed me...
-...because I didn't write the soIutions. -Why not?
I do them in my head.
-Did you teII him that? -I did. He didn't beIieve me.
He said if he can't do them in his head, I'm cheating.
RidicuIous. How can he faiI you for being smarter than he is?
That's what I said.
y ou did?
-How'd he take it? -He fIunked me, remember?
Oh, yeah.
Sam, I'm sorry. I jumped to concIusions.
I'm gonna caII this guy and have a word with him.
We'II straighten this out.
Hey, you can't park there.
-Don't worry about it. -Sam?
Sam.
Parker, this is Houston.
We're seeing some bad weather over Canaveral.
It doesn't look like you're coming back this week.
Your wife's gonna give me an earful.
Roger that.
Hey, come take a Iook at this storm system. It's enormous.
y ou aII right?
He's afraid of fIying.
I'm fine.
StatisticaIIy, the chance of a pIane going down because of turbuIence...
...is Iess than, what, one in a biIIion? Or is it a miIIion?
-I can't remember if it's a-- -Shut up, Brian.
Listen, Sam...
...don't pay attention to him, okay? Everything's fine.
They're stiII serving drinks.
Folks, it appears we're gonna have a bit of a bumpy ride for the next few minutes.
Please fasten your seat belts and put your tray tables...
...and seat backs in their upright positions until we get through this. Thank you.
Whoa!
Grab it. Watch out!
Sam?
Sam.
Can I have my hand back?
I can't beIieve I'II be aIone with my mom.
Be patient with her. She's been Iooking forward to this hoIiday.
I know.
I Iove you.
I Iove you too.
Hey.
Hey, heIIo. Bye-bye.
The cause of this extreme weather remains a mystery, although some meteorologists...
...believe sunspots are to blame. Hundreds are missing....
This is very odd. There's a buoy registering a 1 3-degree drop in ocean temperature.
Oh, yeah, that's right. That buoy maIfunctioned the other day.
I'II see if there are ships near Georges Bank to get it.
This buoy isn't in Georges Bank. It's just off GreenIand.
What?
-What are the odds of two buoys faiIing? -Remote.
Make that three.
Just another typicaI day in New y ork City. Traffic jam, 1 0 bIocks Iong.
Look here, Buddha. These peopIe, and their cars, and their exhaust...
...and they're poIIuting the atmosphere.
Excuse me, sir. We're reaIIy Iate.
We're aImost there.
-We're onIy two bIocks away. -Let's waIk.
What's gotten into them?
I have no idea. They're aII worked up today.
In 1 532, Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro...
...defeated this Incan emperor at the Peruvian highIand town of Cajamarca.
What is his name? Time.
Montezuma.
No, no, Montezuma was in Mexico, not Peru.
It's, Iike, Anta-something.
-AtahuaIpa? -That's it!
Time's up. Correct answers, pIease.
That's five points for Woodmont and five points for Pinehurst Academy.
Next question.
In what year did Louis Quatorze ascend to the throne of France?
This pIace is so retro, it might actuaIIy be cooI if it were on purpose.
y eah, Iook at aII these nerds.
Hey.
y ou Iook beautifuI.
Thanks. This pIace is incredibIe.
Do you beIieve this is their cafeteria?
y ou pIayed a great first round.
So did you.
These are my teammates, Sam and Brian.
-I'm Laura. -Oh, I'm J.D.
-y our schooI's amazing. -WouId you Iike a tour?
Sure. That'd be great.
CouId you hoId this for a sec?
y eah, sure.
Thanks.
Man, you got some serious competition.
PIease.
-And I'II bet he's reaIIy rich too. -Shut up.
-Who is it? -Terry Rapson here.
Sorry to call you so early.
No, professor, it's aII right. What is it?
WeII, we've found something extraordinary. Extraordinary and disturbing, that is.
y ou recaII what you said in New DeIhi about how poIar meIting...
-...might disrupt the North AtIantic Current? -Yes.
WeII...
...I think it's happening.
What do you mean?
One of our NOMAD buoys registered a 1 3-degree drop...
...in surface temperature. I've sent you an e-mail.
HoId on.
At first we thought it was a malfunction.
But there are four more across the North Atlantic showing the same thing.
This is unbeIievabIe.
y ou predicted it wouId happen.
y es, but not in our Iifetime. This is too fast.
There are no forecast modeIs remoteIy capabIe...
...of pIotting this scenario, except yours.
My modeI is a reconstruction of a prehistoric cIimate shift.
It's not a forecast modeI.
It's the closest thing we have.
Nothing Iike this has ever happened before.
At Ieast not in the Iast 1 0,000 years.
As I predicted yesterday, the swell off Hurricane Noelani is incredible.
These waves are even bigger than I imagined. Just take a look.
-ShouIdn't you be monitoring the weather? -This is L.A. What weather?
Wait. What's that noise?
What noise?
Honey, I'II be right back.
The Coast Guard closed the beaches, as waves have grown too big for....
-L.A. Weather Center. -It's Tommy.
I'm in the middIe of something, Tommy. What do you need?
There's haiI the size of goIf baIIs coming down here.
A low-pressure system along the California coast...
...is creating a cyclonic system across the L.A. Basin.
-Yeah? -Boss, turn on The Weather ChanneI.
-I think we have to issue a tornado warning. -What are you taIking about?
Palmdale and Lancaster are reporting wind speeds in excess....
-HoId on a second. -Conditions highly unusual for California.
We're buiIding a forecast modeI, we need-- What?
Priority access to the mainframe for two days, maybe three.
-Oh, is that it? Anything eIse? -We need it immediateIy.
I wouId say that you've Iost your mind...
...but you've been this way for the past 20 years.
-Tom, this is important. -What's this forecast modeI you're buiIding?
Janet Tokada, this is Jack HaII. Janet's a hurricane speciaIist with NASA.
Jack's a paIeocIimatoIogist, and I have absoIuteIy no idea what he's up to.
Booker. What's going on here?
They just issued a tornado warning in Los AngeIes.
Breaking news as we prepare to go live to Los Angeles.
Mixed reports are coming in about some extreme weather occurring in the area.
Okay, we're now going live to our Fox affiliate in Los Angeles.
We have live coverage now from our Fox 1 1 chopper. Are you there, Bart?
y es, I'm here. These tornados are forming so fast--
-Bart! -What? Oh! Oh, my God.
Lisa, are you getting this on camera?
This tornado just erased the HoIIywood sign.
The Hollywood sign is gone. It's just shredded.
Bart, what can you see? Is anyone hurt?
I wouIdn't be surprised. There is so much damage.
And there are peopIe down there taking pictures.
Hey, what the heII are you guys doing? Go for cover!
y ou can't stay here! Get out of here!
What you're seeing are two actuaI tornados striking Los AngeIes InternationaI Airport.
Wait. It Iooks Iike they've joined and formed one Iarge tornado.
-Tommy! -Oh, my God!
HoIy shit!
I'd like to urge all of our viewers to stay away....
-Jeff, where are you? -I'm on yucca and Vine.
-I'm on my way. -y ou're on TV. y ou're in the middIe of it.
God! Oh, my God!
y ou gotta get out of there, man.
That bus just got dropped on top of that Porsche!
Oh, my God. I hope no one was in that car.
For our national audience just joining us now...
...we are going live to downtown Los Angeles right now. Tommy?
If you look over there behind me, that's a tornado.
y es, a twister in Los AngeIes.
It's one of many tornados that are destroying our city.
There's another one. That's the Los AngeIes skyIine.
It's unbelievable! It's huge! I've never seen anything like it.
What's happening?
It Iooks Iike some sort of...
...huge, horrific, terrifying nightmare, onIy this is the reaI thing.
y es, I'm Iooking at it right now.
-y es, it is. -What's happening?
I'II caII you back.
Mr. President, Los AngeIes has been devastated by a series of tornados.
On top of that, the FAA wants your approvaI to suspend aII air traffic.
-What do you think we shouId do? -UntiI we can figure it out...
...I don't think we have much choice, sir.
What you're seeing is what's left of downtown Los Angeles.
Hey, man, I just got off the phone with my mom.
Excuse me, you guys. I'm reaIIy sorry, but we need to change the channeI.
The FAA has grounded all air traffic in the United States.
Unfortunately, the order came too late for two planes...
...brought down by severe turbulence in the Midwest.
-The first flight.... -So much for ''one in a biIIion.''
AII right. AII right, Iisten up, everybody. Listen up, pIease.
We've got a Iot of work to do, and we don't have much time...
...so Iet's get started, pIease. Vorsteen?
AII our grid modeIs are worthIess.
I don't think grid modeIs are gonna be a Iot of heIp here.
Canadians report tremendous circuIation moving from the Arctic.
In Siberia, there's a Iow-pressure system never before seen.
And AustraIia just saw the strongest typhoon ever recorded.
-These things are interconnected? -We have to consider the possibiIity.
The onIy force strong enough to affect gIobaI weather is the sun.
-What's NASA have to say? -We've aIready checked.
SoIar output is normaI.
-What about the North AtIantic Current? -What about it?
I got a caII Iast night from Professor Rapson at the HedIand Center.
He thinks the current has changed.
Oh, come on, Jack. How couId that be?
The current depends upon a baIance of saIt and freshwater.
-We aII know that. -y es...
...but no one knows how much freshwater has been dumped into the ocean...
...because of meIting poIar ice.
I think we've hit a criticaI desaIinization point.
It wouId expIain what's driving this extreme weather.
HedIand had some pretty convincing data.
They've asked me to feed it into my paIeocIimate modeI to track the next events.
Are you suggesting these weather anomaIies are gonna continue?
Not just continue. Get worse.
I think we're on the verge of a major cIimate shift.
What are you gonna teII the Administration?
-What do you expect me to teII them? -The government has to make preparations.
-y ou have a theory. -Give me the mainframe. I'II prove it.
No.
y ou have 48 hours.
-Professor HaII. -y es.
-I think your theory may be correct. -WaIk with me.
Just a few weeks ago, I monitored the strongest hurricane on record.
The haiI, the tornados, it aII fits.
Can your modeI factor in storm scenarios?
-We haven't had the time. -WeII, maybe I can heIp.
-WeIcome aboard. -Thanks.
Hi, I'm Jason.
-Hi. -Hi.
Do you have Peter's CT scan resuIts?
y eah. The treatments shrunk the tumor 20 percent.
-Is his eyesight better today? -No. No change.
-Hi, Peter. How are you doing today? -A IittIe better.
Good.
Let me Iisten here.
Can you read that?
No, but I remember the story from the pictures.
y ou do?
My mother used to read it to me.
She must be very proud of you. y ou've been such a brave, big boy.
-Thank you. -y ou're weIcome.
-Here you go. -Thank you.
Jack, you've been working for 24 hours straight.
y ou're the onIy one who hasn't taken a break.
Maybe I'II try to shut my eyes for a whiIe.
CaII me when you get the resuIts.
Frank, is he aIways so obsessive?
-y eah. -y es.
Does he ever Iighten up?
-Not reaIIy. -No.
-How Iong have you been working together? -WeII, Frank's been working with him...
...since the Stone Age, but I've onIy had to endure two years of servitude.
Jack.
Jack, we got the resuIts.
Six to eight months? That can't be.
That time scaIe isn't in months. It's in weeks.
Flooding has caused numerous closures, including the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels.
The pIumbing in the schooI is reaIIy oId. With this rain, the sewage got stopped up.
Where are you staying?
They're finding a place for us with kids here.
y ou can't get home any sooner than tomorrow?
WeII, Iook, Dad, I wouId if I couId, you know. It's just....
This smeII is unbearabIe, Dad.
Stop kidding around! I want you home.
Dad, I'll be on the train.
Do me a favor. Just don't worry about me. I'II figure it out.
AII right, son. I'II see you tomorrow.
Hey, Sam, guess what?
We got a pIace to stay.
Great.
So far, the terrible weather hasn't hit D.C., but local residents aren't taking chances...
...as people stock up for what is already being billed as...
-...the worst storm season on record. -Better be sure.
-My ass is on the Iine. -y ou saw the modeI.
And I hope to God it's wrong.
-Mr. Vice President. -Tom.
-y ou know Professor HaII. -y es, we've met.
Professor HaII has some information I think you shouId Iook at.
We just got these resuIts from our simuIation modeI.
-They expIain what's causing this weather. -I'II read it Iater.
-I have to meet with the director of FEMA-- -This is very urgent.
Our cIimate is changing vioIentIy. It wiII happen over the next six to eight weeks.
y ou said this wouIdn't happen for another 1 00 years.
-I was wrong. -WeII, suppose you're wrong this time.
I wish I were, but you're aware of what's happening everywhere.
We're making aII the necessary preparations for this storm. What more do you expect?
y ou have to start thinking about Iarge-scaIe evacuations right now.
EspeciaIIy in the Northern states.
-Evacuations? -y es.
Have you Iost your mind, HaII? I have to go.
Mr. Vice President! If we don't act now, it's going to be too Iate.
Come on, Jack.
Thanks for bringing us here.
I couIdn't Iet you Ieave New y ork without seeing the NaturaI History Museum.
Of course not. It's a fine coIIection of stuffed animaIs.
Hey, guys, check this out.
''The body of this mammoth was found perfectIy preserved in the Siberian tundra...
...with food stiII in its mouth and stomach...
...indicating that it froze instantIy whiIe grazing.''
It's been 24 hours now since the snow started falling across the British Isles...
...and over Northern Europe. It shows no signs of letting up.
No, no, no. y ou've got to stop worrying. No, no.
It's fine. We've got pIenty of suppIies. We're just snowed in.
y eah. No, it's aII right. It's aII right.
No, you stay where you are. I'II be fine.
y eah, I Iove you too. Okay, bye.
-Hey. How's Jeanette? -Oh, fine.
The ferry just Ianded.
Must be nice in Spain. Wish I was there.
An elite RAF search-and-rescue team has been deployed by helicopter...
...to airlift the royal family to safety.
-y eah, you think they'II come get us? -Not IikeIy.
LuckiIy we've got our own genny, enough tea and biscuits to sink a ship.
Oh, we'II be fine.
As Iong as the Ioo doesn't back up again.
We've got zero visibility. Maintain heading and speed.
-What's our heading? -035, sir.
ApproximateIy 40 kiIometers from BaImoraI CastIe.
We've lost visual contact with you.
-This gauge can't be right. -Wind speed has dropped to zero.
We have vertical walls of cirrus cloud formations.
-What the heII is going on? -The bIoody fueI Iines are starting to freeze.
Port engine pressure is dropping. The rotor rpm is dropping.
We've got a fIameout on the starboard side as weII.
Prepare for crash Ianding.
SeIect emergency fueI.
Come on, you bastard!
Come on!
What I'm about to say is supposed to be confidentiaI.
SeveraI hours ago, three heIicopters went down over ScotIand.
They crashed because the fueI in their Iines froze.
-At what temperature does--? -Negative 1 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
We had to look it up.
The temperature dropped phenomenaIIy fast.
On the ground, peopIe froze before they couId get out of their cars even.
Can you get a sateIIite picture of ScotIand two hours ago?
We've got mountains of data...
...but nowhere near enough computer power to anaIyze it. Can you heIp us?
Send us what you got. We'II do our best.
Thanks, Jack. Bye for now.
This is ScotIand at the time the temperature dropped.
This thing Iooks just Iike a hurricane.
OnIy hurricanes don't form over Iand.
-Good evening, sir. -Hey, HaroId.
-Thanks, Victor. See you in the morning. -Right, sir.
-TerribIe weather. -TeII me about it.
Wow.
y ou Iive here?
Just on the weekends.
It's my dad's pIace. He's kind of never around, so....
Where is he?
Skiing in Europe with my stepmom.
Is this you and your brother?
y eah, that's when we took a bike trip together.
It's been raining Iike this for three days now.
Come on, hurry up.
I'm just standing here.
y ou can't stay here.
I never Iiked this neighborhood anyway.
It's a mob scene here at Grand Central Station.
Over half the platforms are flooded and service has been suspended on all trains.
With planes still grounded and trains now out of service...
...that's bad news for the....
Victor's coming to pick me up. y ou guys want a ride to the train station?
Not anymore.
In Nova Scotia earlier today the ocean rose by 25 feet in a matter of seconds.
What we have feared for the past few days has indeed happened.
The cold front moving from the Arctic...
...has created an enormous storm system in Canada...
...which, incredible as it sounds, looks more like a tropical hurricane....
I gotta go pick up my IittIe brother. Do you guys want a ride?
-Where is he? -He's in a boarding schooI in PhiIadeIphia.
If this system moves south...
...we could see a wind-driven storm surge threaten the entire Eastern Seaboard.
Okay, bye.
Victor's stuck in traffic over on Fifth Avenue.
It'II be easier to head out of town if we meet him over there.
-y ou mean waIk? -No, not in this.
We shouId take the stairs.
We're on the top fIoor.
I guess we're waIking.
Maybe we shouId just stay here.
I think the young Iady is right.
No. We need to get home.
Hey, Cesar, come here.
What are you doing?
The woIves, they're gone.
Just to give you an idea of the situation...
...which seems to be becoming worse with each passing minute:
At the moment, we have flooding in most parts of the island.
We've got traffic snarl-ups because the electricity is now out...
...to almost every part of Manhattan. No traffic signals.
Car accidents, at least two hundred.
And lower Manhattan, we've been told, is virtually inaccessible.
Can you caII Mom? WiII you pIease phone her for me?
Hey.
That dog can't come in here.
Come on, man. It's pouring out there.
I don't care. Read the sign.
It's supposed to be a pubIic Iibrary.
Come on, guys, this way.
Excuse me. y our bad.
Goddamn 1 500-doIIar waterproof raincoat.
-PIease, shut up, man. -There must be rats everywhere.
That's because it's New y ork.
Hey! Hey!
-Open up, big papa. -It's out of service.
It's out of service.
-I'II give you a 1 00 doIIars. -y ou don't have to do that.
No, reaIIy. 200 doIIars. I won't have it.
God, I Iove buses. This is so much fun. This is gonna be the bomb.
HeIIo?
-I can't reach my driver. No signaI. -This is insane.
We're not gonna be abIe to drive. We shouId go back.
-y eah, I vote for that. -Are you kidding? We have to get higher!
Come on.
Up to the Iibrary.
CaIm down.
I can't understand what you're saying.
If you stay caIm, ma'am, I'II get you out.
The door is jammed!
I don't speak French!
Hey, where's Laura?
-She was just right there. -She's right there! Right there, see?
What is she doing?
TeII them to cover their eyes.
There is a wall of water coming towards New York City. Everybody--
-What? -Her bag's in the cab. Their passports.
Forget about it.
-I'II get it for her. -Come on.
Oh, my....
Laura!
-Sam. -No! Brian, no!
Laura! Laura, Iook!
Come on. Come!
Come on!
Sam!