Background Information 

Known for being the home to Hollywood, beaches, and countless other things, a month-long storm will not be added to California’s list of amusements (at least for now).

Recently, California has experienced a record-breaking heatwave since the beginning of September. Not only has the state been swamped with ongoing heat, but there have been rumors circulating Tik Tok of a month-long storm that citizens of the state need to be worried about. If you’ve been on Tik Tok recently, it’s possible that you’re a part of the 1 million people who have viewed this TikTok. In this video, claims have been made that sparked worry in the residents of California. In this day and age, it’s easy for people to see a piece of news and believe in its credibility, especially when the information is spread in a dire tone. Although there is truth to the month-long storm, the belief that this storm is going to affect them in the upcoming days or weeks is untrue.

Head to the Original Source of Information or Who Is Behind the Claim

Before people start boarding up their homes and buying raincoats, it’s important to take time to fact-check this information, especially if it involves rumors of a natural disaster. First of all, instead of consuming this information and worrying non-stop, it’s important to check the surrounding resources like the caption or the comment section. If you open up the comments section, you can see that the creator of the Tik Tok said that she spread false information and didn’t read the article that explains that this superstorm won’t happen for a while.

Try a Keyword Search or What Source Are Saying

Other than checking the comment section (because it may not always be reliable), it’s important to check your facts with other sites. To check other sources, searching keywords in Google is an efficient way to see if something is fact or fiction. Typing words like “California month-long storm” or “California storm soon” in the search engine allows you to get a look at what’s really going on. The first article that pops up is called “The Coming California Megastorm” by the New York Times. Although it does talk about the seriousness of a month-long storm, it also says that the specific date it will happen is unknown. It’s easy for people to see this information and gloss over facts like this, but this shows why it’s so important to take your time when reading an article, especially if you’re fact-checking.

Spotting Reliable Sources or What’s the Evidence

Not all news sites may be credible, so it’s important to check out other articles as well. However, the New York Times is a renowned news site and highly reliable. When fact-checking an article, make sure the author is legit and that the dates and times line up well. For example, the Tik Tok was posted on Sep. 4 while the New York Times article was posted on  Aug. 12. This shows that the news of the mega storm had been out for a while, and it didn’t just come out to talk about an upcoming month-long storm.

Rating

After taking all the sources into consideration, the rating of the claim is a mixed bag. The specific date and occurrence of this storm is not set, and won’t truly be occurring in the upcoming weeks. Though it is true that there will be a month-long storm that will occur sometime in the future, Californians don’t need to sweat too early.