In this post, quotes from Google AI are in light blue font.

Image: “Aurora borealis (Northern Lights) forecast for 12 November 2025,” by NOAA, public domain

Image: “Aurora borealis (Northern Lights) forecast for 12 November 2025,” by NOAA, public domain

. . . . .

Dear Ones,

I was sparked by the Veterans Day Geostorm we all just experienced, along with a new Patch.com article …

Link: “Waymo Is Hitting The Highway. Here’s What To Know About The Robotaxi’s Expanded Service: The little driverless cars will now be seen on freeways and interstates around San Francisco and Los Angeles,” by AP News Partner, 13 November 2025 … https://patch.com/california/san-francisco/waymo-hitting-highway-heres-what-know-robotaxis-expanded-service ..

. . . . .

I asked Google AI: What happens to waymo driverless cars during a geostorm?

Google AI said: “During a geomagnetic storm, Waymo vehicles are programmed to pull over and safely stop, as the company prioritizes the safety of its passengers and other road users over continuing the trip. While Waymo has extensive weather testing experience and systems to handle conditions like heavy rain and snow, a geomagnetic storm presents a unique challenge by potentially disrupting the vehicle’s GPS and other navigation systems, which are crucial for its safe operation. The cars are equipped with technology to detect extreme weather, and their primary response is to stop and wait for the conditions to improve before resuming their journey.

Sensor limitations: Geomagnetic storms, unlike other weather events like rain or snow, don’t directly obscure a car’s cameras, lidar, or radar. However, they can interfere with the GPS system’s ability to pinpoint the vehicle’s location accurately.

Safety protocols: Waymo vehicles are designed to detect and react to extreme weather events that could compromise the safety of their operation. In a geomagnetic storm, this would include automatically pulling over to a safe location and stopping the vehicle until the storm has passed.

Trained response: While Waymo vehicles are trained for various weather conditions, they may not be able to navigate through a severe geomagnetic storm as they could with heavy rain or snow. The company’s primary response is to stop and wait for the storm to pass.” [bolding is mine]

, , , , ,

I noticed this response was considerably different from the first response I elicited from Google AI regarding this question. It looked to me as if Google AI had possibly moved quite swiftly into ‘data massaging’ mode and sculpted the changeup … possibly so as to lull our minds to possible upcoming dangers on the California highways?

I checked the WordPress code of the new Google AI response and found an impressive maze of code. Huh! Maybe those of you who are adept at code can proclaim the ‘yay or nay’ of my perhaps unfounded ‘data massaging’ hunch?

Here is the above question with code …

<div class=”Y3BBE” data-sfc-cp=”” data-hveid=”CAEQAA” data-processed=”true”>During a geomagnetic storm, Waymo vehicles are programmed to pull over and safely stop, as the company prioritizes the safety of its passengers and other road users over continuing the trip. While Waymo has extensive weather testing experience and systems to handle conditions like heavy rain and snow, a geomagnetic storm presents a unique challenge by potentially disrupting the vehicle’s GPS and other navigation systems, which are crucial for its safe operation. The cars are equipped with technology to detect extreme weather, and their primary response is to stop and wait for the conditions to improve before resuming their journey.<span class=”uJ19be notranslate” data-wiz-attrbind=”class=bTVPIc_a_R4Tih;” data-wiz-uids=”bTVPIc_a,bTVPIc_b,bTVPIc_c”><span class=”vKEkVd” data-animation-atomic=””> <button class=”rBl3me” tabindex=”0″ disabled=”disabled” data-amic=”true” data-icl-uuid=”9626de94-5df5-4824-b983-697e37a58886″ aria-label=”View related links” data-wiz-attrbind=”disabled=bTVPIc_a_C5gNJc;class=bTVPIc_a_UpSNec;” data-ved=”2ahUKEwiql8TY-vKQAxWHFTQIHYgBINYQye0OegQIARAB”></button></span></span></div>
<ul class=”KsbFXc U6u95″ data-processed=”true”>
<li style=”list-style-type: none;”>
<ul class=”KsbFXc U6u95″ data-processed=”true”>
<li data-hveid=”CAMQAA” data-processed=”true”><span class=”T286Pc” data-sfc-cp=”” data-processed=”true”><strong class=”Yjhzub” data-processed=”true”>Sensor limitations:</strong> Geomagnetic storms, unlike other weather events like rain or snow, don’t directly obscure a car’s cameras, lidar, or radar. However, they can interfere with the GPS system’s ability to pinpoint the vehicle’s location accurately.</span></li>
<li data-hveid=”CAMQAQ” data-processed=”true”><span class=”T286Pc” data-sfc-cp=”” data-processed=”true”><strong class=”Yjhzub” data-processed=”true”>Safety protocols:</strong> Waymo vehicles are designed to detect and react to extreme weather events that could compromise the safety of their operation. In a geomagnetic storm, this would include automatically pulling over to a safe location and stopping the vehicle until the storm has passed<span id=”iJdEXaerwGIer0PEPiIOAsQ0_2″ data-processed=”true”>.</span></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-hveid=”CAMQAg” data-processed=”true”><span class=”T286Pc” data-sfc-cp=””><strong class=”Yjhzub”>Trained response:</strong> While Waymo vehicles are trained for various weather conditions, they may not be able to navigate through a severe geomagnetic storm as they could with heavy rain or snow. The company’s primary response is to stop and wait for the storm to pass.</span><span class=”uJ19be notranslate” data-wiz-attrbind=”class=bTVPIc_1w_R4Tih;” data-wiz-uids=”bTVPIc_1w,bTVPIc_1x,bTVPIc_1y”><span class=”vKEkVd” data-animation-atomic=””> </span></span></li>
</ul>

. . . . .

Along similar lines, I noticed an article in today’s SpaceWeather.com … https://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=15&month=11&year=2025 … “Did the Solar Storm confuse this lawnmower?”

As it devolved, this was about a Lymow One Robotic Lawnmower that uses GPS/RTK. During the Veterans Day Geostorm the lawnmower went off course and started eating a flowerbed.

. . . . .

So I asked Google AI: What happens with RTK [real-time kinetic positioning] during a geostorm?

Google AI said: “During a geostorm, RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) systems experience significant signal degradation, which can cause them to lose centimeter-level accuracy and drop from a “FIX” to a “FLOAT” state or an even less accurate mode. This happens because the storm causes large, rapid fluctuations in the ionosphere, which disrupt the GPS signals RTK relies on. These disturbances can lead to errors, delays, or temporary loss of signal lock, making precise positioning unreliable or impossible.” [bolding is mine]

. . . . .

I asked Google AI: What uses RTK?

Google AI said: “RTK is used in applications that require high-precision, real-time positioning, such as precision agriculture, surveying and mapping, construction and excavation, and autonomous vehicles like drones and self-driving cars The technology is also used in mining for locating underground utilities and in cinematography for stable drone shots.” [bolding is mine]

CONCLUSION

So then tractors, surveying and mapping instruments, construction and excavation equipment, and driverless drones and cars that use RTK might … like the LyMow lawnmower, go off course during a geostorm.

And Waymo driverless vehicles might pull to the side of the highway and stop during a severe geostorm.

Now we know.

God bless you all
And keep you safe,
And be with you
Through all your days!

In love, light and joy
This is Alice B. Clagett.
I Am of the Stars … and so are you!

Written and published on 14 November 2025; revised on 17 February 2026

…………..

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0). Attribution: By Alice B. Clagett.
More license information
…………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………….

geostorms, electric cars,