Corrected entry: They need to get on board the ship for medical supplies, but there is a medical supply box in the cafeteria when they break open the vending machines.
Corrected entry: A tornado is shown tearing apart a skyscraper in downtown Los Angeles. Most modern day skyscrapers can actually withstand even the most powerful tornadoes.
Correction: The point of the film is that the weather is out of control. The tornadoes are more powerful than any previously recorded.
Factual error: At the end of the film a wing of Black Hawk helicopters are dispatched to NYC to evacuate survivors. The Black Hawk does not have anywhere near the fuel capacity for such a trip. And at its cruising speed, it would take a day to get there anyway.
Suggested correction: We don't know where the helicopters originated from. We only see the head of the NOAA hop in one down in Mexico, and then we cut to the fleet over NYC. He also is wearing heavier clothing for winter conditions so it's possible they originated from elsewhere.
Corrected entry: The cell phone of the Japanese man knocked down during the hail storm reads Rogers at the bottom, which is a cell phone service provider in Canada, not Japan. That's some impressive coverage. (00:12:00)
Correction: The phone has the Rogers AT&T logo on it. This in itself is not a mistake because phones from Japan can be used in North America and vice versa. Only the SIM needs to be swapped out as cell phones are designed to run on multiple frequency and networks worldwide.
Plot hole: Dennis Quaid and his companion seem to have no problems staying warm in just a tent while preparing to sleep for the night; they are actually shown with removed layers of clothing while in the tent. Yet the survivors in the library are covered from head to toe in clothing and blankets.
Suggested correction: Jack and Jason are both extremely close to the heat source in the tent when they sleep at night (within a foot or less) and it's also possible the tent is rated for arctic survival, whereas the survivors in the library aren't always close to the only heat source (being the fireplace). Just because you are inside doesn't mean it's automatically warm. Just like in a house or a garage, even with proper insulation the temperature inside can be equal to the temperature outside.
Corrected entry: Even though many buildings and even the American flag freeze completely solid in some scenes, this fails to happen to any of the main characters, despite the fact that some sleep outside in tents during a snowstorm without a jacket or hat.
Correction: Well, A) the people are moving with jackets and gear to keep warm. B) Things freeze when the super-cooled air comes down and the main characters were inside then.
Correction: During the big freeze, the main characters in the library kept the fire going and huddled in the general area of the fire to stay warm. Jack and Jason slept inside the Wendy's with the tent set up and the fires burning on the grill. It was only in the eye of the storm that they froze completely solid.
Factual error: Given that the entire premise of the movie revolves around the melting of the ice caps and the disruption this causes, including a rise in sea-levels, and that at then end of the movie most of the Northern Hemisphere outside the tropics is covered by an enormously enlarged ice cap the sea-level should have lowered significantly enough for the shape of the land masses to appear different from space.
Suggested correction: Ice that accumulated on land doesn't change sea levels enough to make the continents appear different.
Corrected entry: When the helicopters land in Manhattan in the end, there should have been lots of snow flying around since it had been snowing for that last two days after the eye passed. (01:53:45)
Correction: The snow was frozen solid from the fast freeze.
Factual error: When some people are burning books in the library, one man is adamantly protecting a Gutenberg Bible. Considering how rare and valuable Gutenberg Bibles are, it would not have been on the shelf or even readily accessible. Likely it would be locked in a safe or at least a showcase. Considering the shortage of time to collect fuel and the plethora of books available, I doubt they would break into a locked container to get another bit of fuel.
Suggested correction: According to Wikipedia, and other online sources, the Gutenberg Bible of the New York Public Library is publicly on display. It's shown in as being in a glass display case, there for anyone to see. There's no evidence that the book was taken for fuel. The first we see of it, it's being held by the person safeguarding it. It's possible they took it specifically to keep it safe. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutenberg_Bible.
Suggested correction: He was the head librarian, and as such would have access to the safe/showcase. And he would want to keep the Gutenberg as close as possible to protect it.
That man clutching the Gutenberg was NOT a librarian, much less a "head librarian." He was just one of the civilians who came into the library to escape the climate onslaught. He wouldn't have access to something as precious and priceless as the Gutenberg. Original flaw remains valid.
Corrected entry: The International Space Station is shown taking meteorological measurements and transmitting them to earth. First of all, there are HUNDREDS of weather satellites already in orbit for that purpose, the use of which does not require distracting astronauts from other duties. Second, the ISS does not have sophisticated earth-sensing equipment.
Correction: The astronauts on the international space station are never shown taking measurements, only observing the storm and the effects of it after.
Corrected entry: In the very last shot of the movie we see the Atlantic Ocean from the Space station. There is no ice on the surface all the way up to Northern Europe and Greenland. If the air got as cold as shown and for that long, at least the surface would have frozen.
Correction: The planet flash froze yes, but it obviously warmed back up considerably since people were able to go outside without instantly freezing to death. The oceans are salt water which has a much lower freezing temperature than pure water. If the surface of the Atlantic froze at the first cold snap, it undoubtedly thawed back out when the temperature raised back into the survivable range.
Correction: Water in motion has a much lower freezing point than stagnant water.
Corrected entry: As Jack and Jason trudge on foot to New York, he says "we have forty miles to go" Most people can walk between 2 - 5 mph. Jack and Jason are also using snowshoes with packs on. 20 a day walking would be superhuman, yet they cover 40 miles nearly overnight.
Correction: The conversation doesn't happen whist they are walking, it happens whilst they're inside having waited for the eye of the storm to pass. Also, Jack doesn't say 'we have 40 miles to go', he says 'it's 40 miles to Manhattan'. Finally there's nothing saying that they covered that distance overnight. We only see them spending one more night in the tent but that doesn't mean they didn't spend more nights that we didn't see.
Corrected entry: Somebody, I think the US president, says that a part of Florida has been flooded but when we get a view from space at the end of the film, Florida is intact.
Correction: The only time that Florida is mentioned is when Jack is asked where people should evacuate to. He replies saying "parts of Florida that have not flooded"
Correction: Most likely there was some unsubstantiated information where there may have been some flooding in Florida but the waters receded quickly and there wasn't the devastation that occurred further north.
Other mistake: None of the men in the movie grow any facial hair at all, even the ones stuck in the library in New York.
Suggested correction: The storm only lasts a few days to a week at most, which isn't too much time for a guy to grow facial hair.
Corrected entry: When Jack enters New York city he walks by the statue of liberty. This is an odd way to enter the city considering the statue of liberty is over the Atlantic (east of New York) and they are coming from the south.
Correction: The Statue of Liberty is off the Lower Battery of NYC near Ellis Island. If you fly into NYC from the west, which I have done hundreds of times, you fly over the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It is not located east of New York.
Correction: It still doesn't make sense on how he would wake up outside the tent with his buddy in the middle of the ocean... it's absurd to think that would be the easiest way to get to downtown NY.
Character mistake: When Jack arrives in New York he's right next to the Statue of Liberty. However when he reaches the library he comes from the East River and walks west. That is a pretty big detour around the southeastern corner of Manhattan, instead of taking the direct route. (01:47:00 - 01:48:20)
Suggested correction: Easier to walk in an open area and have a short distance walking between buildings rather than walking through the city where the terrain may not be the best even with the snow/ice.
Factual error: When the big wave comes, it's hitting New York harbor and the Statue of Liberty from the west. Possible I guess but unlikely due to the fact that the harbor just starts there; the west side of the harbor isn't the ocean side, it's New Jersey. Later, the people are standing in front of the library, which faces east and the wave is coming right at them. Then they show an overhead shot of the water overtaking the city and its coming from the south.
Suggested correction: The water is coming from the Atlantic. It probably already overcame parts of New Jersey and areas like Long Island and Brooklyn, but they just showed it entering the harbor. As far as it coming from the east, the water probably hit the island of Manhattan and the east river probably also started to rise which would eventually overtake the island as well coming towards the library from the east.
Continuity mistake: When Sam and the others are walking in the rain toward the library, they are carrying backpacks or duffel bags, but when they reach the steps they are not carrying any extra baggage.
Suggested correction: The bags were slowing them down, so they probably just abandoned them in the street.
Other mistake: When his dad arrives at the library, the opening is larger and the raft with the food is gone. Had they gone out to get it after the storm passed, the doors would not have been frozen shut so neatly.
Suggested correction: Jack and Jason entered the library through a broken window in the large room they were initially gathered in shortly after the tidal wave. The raft with the food on it probably froze during the big freeze, so they never left the room after the storm passed.
Visible crew/equipment: When Jack is in the library towards the end of the movie, he looks in a room and then the shot goes back to facing him. If you look very carefully, in the back of the hall you can see a person walk by. He is very hard to see. (01:49:05)
Suggested correction: You never see anyone walk by. It's only him and his friend Jason. It's also very dark in the hallways so may have been a shadow.
Correction: A first aid kit located in a cafeteria wouldn't have all the medical supplies they would need.
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