His racial comments 'kicked/whipped/stirred up a storm' in the newspapers. [=newspapers criticized his racial comments very strongly]
The college was quiet that morning, but it was 'the calm before the storm'. Thousands of students would arrive later.
Newspapers have 'weathered the storm' of online information by providing news online themselves.
(..) to lesser men. Mordor. Yes,... there it lies. This city has dwelt ever in the sight of its shadow. A storm is coming. This is not the weather of the world. This is a device of Sauron's making. A broil of fume he sends ahead of his host. The Orcs of Mordor (..)2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King