The Five Stages of a Chicago Winter

Introducing Lost in the Pond's second 'Final Friday Special'. This month, allow me to lay out the five stages of a Chicago winter.
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[@stacyrussell460]

The American accent during the weather report was hilariously accurate. Well done.

[@mstsp9546]

Perfect lol

[@GizmoFromPizmo]

He even got the northern mispronunciation of the word "that" right. They use the 'a' sound from "after" instead of the 'a' sound from "back".

[@AspasiaB]

I did a double-take. Well done, Laurence!

[@patriciapetersen904]

Grew up in MN and must say the Midwestern accent is one of the best I've heard. Didn't even realize it was you at first. Well done!

[@marciaoh7056]

OMG I didn't even catch that it was him in the beginning of the weathercast. He sounded EXACTLY like one of our local newscasters. EXACTLY. And he dressed like our typical newscasters, which is always terrible.

[@BriLamberson]

As a former Chicagoan…accurate. You forgot to mention the fun experience of your eyeball juices freezing ever so slightly while walking outside and having to blink more frequently so they don’t actually freeze.

[@DarkHorsePod953]

👆👆To partake in our current investments mentorship/insights

[@bluekitty3731]

Don't forget the snotcycles! (For those uninformed its when your drippy nose freezes, for me thats between Thanksgiving and Easter!)

[@Guy_de_Loimbard]

Or if you're male, breath crystals freezing to your mustache.

[@kynn23]

As a SW Michigander, I'm familiar with frozen nostrils, but not with frozen eyeball juices. I'm also not familiar with that phrase, but I love it.

[@sigsputnik1]

When you sniff and your nostrils stick closed lol

[@BillHimmel]

As a German, I‘m proud of our „Weihnachtsmarkt“. Glad we brought joy to Chicago with our tradition!😊

[@jlwilder8436]

It's a great one, every year from the Friday before Thanksgiving til a few days before Christmas, right downtown between the skyscrapers... everyone who loves such a thing should make it a destination sometime.

[@skipads5141]

I read that as Wehrmachtsnacht having just come from Wehrmacht videos. I was wondering why they got their own night.

[@BillHimmel]

@@skipads5141 😂

[@asrr62]

germans immigrated to the u.s. too. so we do have a little german inspired food here too.

[@nocturnalrecluse1216]

Well, that's probably because Deutch is the single largest ethnicity in the United States. Lot's or German immigrants have brought their traditions such as Octoberfest, ect.

[@jeffreyprice2982]

Having been born and raised in the Chicagoland area, I hereby convey upon you the title of “native Chicagoan”. This is the funniest, best video I have ever seen on any platform. Well done Sir.

[@LostinthePond]

Thank you!

[@slug..]

I agree

[@bfbrmm]

Seconded!

[@paulrupright4694]

@@LostinthePond I’m in Detroit. Please, I’ll be your guide. Come visit. 🎉🚗🚖

[@pahwraith]

One of us! One of us! One of us! *shiver* *shiver*

[@frisco21]

Laurence's weatherman bit was hands-down his best-ever attempt at the American accent. He must've practiced it for hours.

[@slowanddeliberate6893]

I didn't recognize him for like 5 seconds!

[@theproplady]

I'd say if he was trying to be a Canadian, he was spot on!

[@poodlegirl55]

@@theproplady He was Minnesota/Wisconsin all the way. Which is just aboot Canadian.

[@clbcl5]

He sounds more north shore than the sout side.

[@slowanddeliberate6893]

I hear Canadians pronounce "about" more like "aboat".

[@brucejacobs4026]

Used to live in the twin cities. Yes we had 4 seasons: Winter, winter, winter and road repair.

[@scruffyscrubs5468]

LOL, I live in west central MN and it gets as windy if not more than Chicago. Friggin' cold -25 degrees or more as I am sure you know.

[@thomaswilliams2273]

I live in the UP of Michigan. I say the four seasons are expecting snow any day now season, snow season, brown snow season, and mosquito season.

[@marciaoh7056]

In Milwaukee we say we have only two seasons: Winter and August.

[@marianchicago4002]

technically here in chicago, we do have 2 seasons, pothole season and road work season :P

[@jijitters]

Truly, I've lived here nearly 30 years and I doubt there's been a single time I've gone out without seeing construction going on lol

[@christinecadorette4316]

Ha! Love this, but having lived outside Chicago for about five years I’d propose one final stage…around early April when the days are longer, you’ve put your sweaters away and there’s spring in the air and in your step. And then it SNOWS! AGAIN! IN APRIL! ha to me that was the most soul crushing thing. One last kiss from Jack Frost when you had kicked him out the door weeks ago! I did come to appreciate the community lie we would all tell each other…the “it’s never been this bad before” one. At first it confounded me…I mean it was this bad just one year ago but I grew to appreciate that extending the myth that it’s never been this bad before is a way to make it seem tolerable like it won’t be that bad again. Ha and by the following year I would be ready to say those magic words again :)

[@Grom-rl8bm]

I live outside Chicago and there was a day two winters ago where it was -15°f and the next day it was 55°f. I thought my house was going to explode from the sounds it was making. At the time I worked in the tile industry and we had customer call us to tell us their flooring burst off their floor from expanding faster than the walls

[@steviekc9057]

Yes! Fake Spring 😄

[@bethfioritto]

1000% agree.

[@warreneckels4945]

There is also the 5:00 pm heartbreak in March and April. On some days, temperatures rise into the 60s or 70s without a lot of wind. We've just "sprung forward" and the sun now sets well after work. Then the lake breeze begins. Sure, it's 65 F at Midway but it's still 33 F over the lake, and Nature must set things aright. So, during rush hour, low clouds obscure the skyscrapers and the thermometer plummets. The thermometer drops 30 degrees in an hour, and maybe the clouds spit a little drizzle or snow. (The Lake makes up for this in June and July: it's 95 F in the city, but then the lake breeze takes 10-20 degrees off of that.)

[@mediis]

You're nailed it on the head with April. I'd just be delusional and wear my spring clothes and just repeat, "Suck it Winter", to soothe my cold bones in April.

[@drewbeta01]

I live in the suburbs near a forest preserve, and the thing I notice most at the change of the seasons is how quite it gets outside during the winter because all of the wildlife noises go away. Plus when it's snowing it gets even quieter because the snow insulates nearby road noise. In the spring when I first start to hear birds again it makes me so happy. Then in summer it just sounds like chaos outside at night.

[@AlechiaTheWitch]

All you hear in winter is the snow panding. Somehow

[@fecalmatter7488]

i love the snow silence it feels so cozy

[@edelweiss1006]

I LOVE the quiet of snowfall-especially at night. It can only be broken by people with those obnoxiously loud snowblowers! I shovel before they wake up---leaving me to enjoy the stillest moments. And yes, the contrast to that is the joyous sounds of Spring that also-thankfully-begin before the krachmachers of the world awake.

[@karyon1007]

Painfully accurate description of February in Chicago. Everything is wet, dirty, and/or icy. And the cold just seeps into your soul. Every day is a battle to get out of the house, and all you want to do is stay in bed until Spring. When that first 50° day hits, though, we're driving with the windows down and living it up outside in our t-shirts!

[@LoveK1]

Don’t forget the shorts and flip flops.

[@thekowboymom2710]

Spring Fever hits so hard when it hits 50°

[@ThyLavenderMenace]

seeing people talk about 50° being spring weather makes my georgia heart shudder lmao I bundle up like it's the arctic when it's that cold

[@irishbearman1044]

@@ThyLavenderMenace 50 degrees feels awesome after a long cold winter plus the up tick in everyone's attitude adds a good 10 degrees.

[@ThyLavenderMenace]

@@irishbearman1044 oh I totally get that. it's the same here but instead of 50° it's around 70° lol

[@bigsisdi2]

One of my sisters and I used to spend a weekend in Chicago, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, window shopping, eating, and seeing a show or two. One year it was so cold that we almost canceled, but just decided to dress warm. So, there she was, wearing a pair of tights, heavy socks, two pairs of pants, a turtleneck and a sweatshirt, her winter coat with a hood, two knitted scarves, a thick knitted hat, and gloves inside her mittens! The scarf was pulled up so high, and the hat so low that all you could see were her eyes. As we walked across the Michigan Avenue bridge, she turned to me and said, “It’s not so bad out here!” I almost threw her into the river! 😂

[@slcRN1971]

😆😆‼️ In the Southern Coastal NC, it’s easy to spot joggers who are used to much colder weather than here. They’ll be wearing shorts and short sleeve tops, while us thin blooded southerners are bundled up - - thinking that those people are nuts!

[@Jerseybytes2]

@@slcRN1971 one of my kids used to wear shorts regardless of the weather. I wondered who he got his crazy from, until one day when we had a snowstorm during early spring (ended up with about 2 or so feet of snow). I wanted to record it on my phone so I could show it to my daughter in law who lives in another state, so I went to the backyard in a huge hockey shirt and shorts. ,,, oh yeah, and a hat :D after a while I came back in mostly because my husband kept telling me I was nuts and had to put shoes on. Yep, I still don't know where my kid got his crazy from lol

[@loveit7484]

Hahahahaha!

[@karenandersen9385]

I've had a visit to Dayton Ohio like that. Visiting my brother at Christmas time for a week and the temperature did not get above zero degrees Fahrenheit for 4 days in a row. Same thing I put on every piece of clothing I had we went outside to take a walk got about three houses down and turned around went back home

[@luislaplume8261]

@@karenandersen9385 But,but, and but! What about Climate Change? C'MON MAN!

[@judithrix-brown8790]

Love this video! Born in Chicago, grew up in Michigan. No one knows winter like we do. .still a beautiful City with great history. Fond memories

[@amandamonacoschaub8101]

As a life-long Michigander, I felt this! We typically call April “fourth winter” because we ALWAYS get an intense winter storm right after it starts to feel like spring may be finally showing up 😂

[@tomuchcamoflauge]

A yooper here. We always refer to it as mother natures april fools joke. "oh you thought it was spring? APRIL FOOLS" then you have to unbury your car from like 2 feet of snow

[@hymmj147]

Next door to you, west of Holland, across the little pond. Don't you hate that April one? We get it and send it to you....and it's wiped out my flowering bulbs many a time. Blast!

[@demikus]

Hailing from the Des Moines Area personally, yah know what they say, April flurries bring May worries!

[@marshallsweatherhiking1820]

Michigan springs often suck. Its the one season that never seems to benefit from the climate warming. The warm days come earlier the more west you go it seems. You know Calgary Alberta having record early warmth means its sucking in Michigan.

[@marshallsweatherhiking1820]

@@tomuchcamoflaugeIsn’t April mud season, or melting mountains of grimy brown slush season? I remember certain places in the far north biting insects will hatch right out of the melting snow in May.

[@forreststephenharris]

Not only a surprisingly good American accent, it's more specifically a good Northern Illinois accent.

[@jenreiss3107]

the Irish accent of the US

[@poodlegirl55]

I pegged it as Wisconsin/Minnesota with a hint of Chicago.

[@TM.BECK14]

​@@poodlegirl55 Yeah as someone from rural northern Illinois (not from Chicago or the burbs) I'd say that's an accurate description of our accent.

[@poodlegirl55]

@TM B I live south of Champaign now and people always ask me where I'm from. I say I've lived in Illinois all my life. But they know I'm not from down here! It's a long state. People down here talk more like Kentucky.

[@TM.BECK14]

@@poodlegirl55 I know exactly what you mean. I grew up in N. Illinois and then moved to central IL for the first few years of adulthood and it was definitely different. It was crazy just how much warmer/less snowy it was, even. (PS Champaign is def my favorite town in IL!)

[@bill.godwin-austen]

As a native Southern Californian, such winters were not in my log of experience, until 1978 when I made a business-related trip to Chicago in the dreaded February. Just in time for "The Great Blizzard of '78 ™". That was my first exposure to "real winter", and it was a revelation. I thought I was prepared, with layers upon layers, fur lined coat, fur lined gloves, etc., but none of that mattered as the cold wind cut right through all of it and chilled my thin California blood to the bone.

[@marleneflanagan7137]

that was 1979, not 1978.

[@bill.godwin-austen]

@@marleneflanagan7137 The one I experienced was 1978... there was another one in 79 that was bigger, but at the time they were saying that the blizzard of 78 was the biggest of the century to that point.

[@ImNotaRussianBot]

Yeah, leather is a dumb baby compared to polyester. Embrace the oil!!

[@MsArri81]

"Thin Californian Blood!" 👏😂😂 This native Californian agrees! I also say I have Southern California thin skin whenever I visit family in Cleveland Ohio. They laugh when I say how cold it is and it's not that cold to them, yet!.

[@Jude74]

@@marleneflanagan7137 both years had brutal blizzards. I know this because it was my first memory as a child, stuck in a blizzard in 78 and my one and only snow day in 79.

[@sharoncrews9442]

Wow!! This is not a “You Tube video,” it’s a brilliant short film!! Love it. Thank you, Sir Lawrence!

[@dobiebloke9311]

Lawrence - Your 'Weatherman' performance was so good that it wasn't until the end of his first appearance that I realized it was you. Well done.

[@Ralph64]

I'm impressed by weatherman Cody.

[@GizmoFromPizmo]

Cody the weatherman made me laugh the loudest! The first time I saw him I thought you actually inserted an actual weather segment from local news. Then I realized IT WAS YOU! 🤣🤣🤣

[@pinecone2455]

Yes. You didn’t hit the “R’s” too hard. 🥁

[@GizmoFromPizmo]

@@pinecone2455 - That was SO great!

[@SarahRenz59]

It took me a few seconds as well to realize it was Lawrence.

[@ScooterBond1970]

I wanna know how long ago he filmed that part, since he had to shave for it then grow his beard back for the rest. Also 🤣 especially when Cody ran with the "cold white sh**" gag.

[@fermisparadox01]

Was that a cheap clip on tie like the weatherman wears?🤣😂

[@ColaKitty9595]

My home town is in Chicagoland, and this is accurate. The seasonal affective disorder is INTENSE

[@kvcooks814]

We lived in Chicago for 10 years spanning 2006-16, thus experienced the Snowmageddon of 2011. I've never shoveled so much snow in my life. We learned to love the squeak and crunch of the white sh*t, our drapes freezing solid to the inside of our windows until we could get the humidity inside low enough, wearing full face masks, dressing our dogs in puffy coats and boots just so they could go outside to do their business, which was always accomplished as close to the front door as they could manage. Aaahh...memories.

[@soldierx345]

Took my dad, myself, and my uncle a god 4 hours to shovel the driveway for that winter. Worst blizzard there since the 70s

[@MikeP2055]

"Get to find out what it's like to be in an episode of Rick Steves' Europe." That is solid gold writing! 😁😆

[@pamelar5868]

Funny stuff!

[@kynn23]

I had to pause the video to finish laughing because that was so accurate. I've only been to the Christkindlmarket once, but it's a fond memory.

[@moxievision]

I legit LOL'd. Or in this case, LitPOL'd. Or LaurL'd. There's gotta be a specific term for laughing at a LitP joke.

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

Lawrence's photography has gotten so artful. Every frame a masterpiece.

[@Mjhaider1985]

One might say Every Frame...A Painting

[@loveit7484]

It was!!!

[@kelly1827]

I was going to comment on that too! You can really see a huge difference from his earliest videos. Well done, Laurence!

[@donnaguy9057]

OMG! One of your best! Your Chicago accent is quite good & I laughed out loud! I love the photo at the very end of the 2007 Laurence!

[@GuttersMN]

I live in Minneapolis, and I once spent a January in London. London had actual flowers blooming in the parks. Minneapolis is 6 degrees farther South, and I guarantee we have never had flowers in a park in January in Minneapolis.

[@Mrhalligan39]

“People who sound angry, but aren’t.” Absolutely true. “Cody” has a quite credible Chicago accent as well.

[@vincentperratore4395]

I was unaware that there was one.

[@Mrhalligan39]

@@vincentperratore4395 You’re welcome?

[@Puddlef1sh]

@@vincentperratore4395 there definitely is. My As and Os always call me out

[@jeepstergal4043]

@@vincentperratore4395 There absolutely is a Chicago accent. It's the one most news readers strive to attain.

[@MrJafredderf]

By Feb a lot of people are angry...questioning life choices, etc.

[@kingjellybean9795]

Cody's physcho big eyes and young Lawrence's glorious main are things I didn't know I needed 🤣 Home run my guy

[@TheJustineCredible]

WOW, yeah. I'm totally impressed with the American accent! Well done!! Still my favorite city in all of the US, Chicago winters are NO JOKE. Having grown up in the Chicago area, I've experienced every sort of winter the Midwest can throw at someone. Blizzards, record-breaking freezing temps, oddly warm and snowless, early start, and really late start "Snow seasons." Even so, it's still my favorite. Everyone's suffering through the same season and we recognize that in our friends and neighbors. We still stand outside to catch the feeling of the first real snowfall on our faces, stare at the wonder of a Christmas Eve dusting, and how amazingly quiet everything seems to be, if even just for a moment. My childhood winters usually started around Thanksgiving. Either just before or directly after as my parents would take the family into the city for my birthday dinner. Since I have a winter birthday near a holiday, I didn't get birthday parties with friends. So, to make up for that, my parents did their best to make my birthdays memorable with dinner in the city and an after-dinner walk down State Street to view the Marshall Fields Christmas window displays. (Sorry, Macy's just isn't the same)

[@kristinazubic9669]

It’s really not. Meet you under the clock!

[@CherylBeachlerRizzo]

Your local meteorologist was so convincing that it took me a while to realize it wasn't Tom Skilling playing Cody.

[@CyberSarge44]

Wife's family was from Chicago (they have since away) and the the trick to surviving winter is to maintain a BAC of .50 or higher

[@cmdreffietrinket]

What is a BAC?

[@Mary-gm2cl]

@@cmdreffietrinket Blood alcohol level

[@marye.fox-grimm6541]

I'm sure you're kidding, right?

[@jerelull9629]

With that BAC, I doubt I could be roused to NOTICE the temps, considering .08 is legally intoxicated.

[@bluekitty3731]

I just put on my natural layer of insulation just like the Bears! (Not the football team!)

[@hockemeyer1]

I have lived in Chicago for some years, actually I moved across Lake Michigan 48 years ago. We used to call that biting wind by the lake "The Hawk".

[@Jude74]

Nodding in agreement while freezing my ass off across the street from Lake Michigan waiting for my dog to finish his business. Oye.

[@jjohansen86]

I just found this video a few months late, but let me say: Having done grad school in Chicago, you perfectly captured the reality of just how Chicago winters feel. The best (and most awful) analogy for Chicago that I ever heard is that living in Chicago is like being in an abusive relationship: Most of the time it wins you over, it wines and dines you with fireworks and beaches and summer festivities. But then, just when it's lulled you into thinking, "He's changed, everything will be fine now," well, that's when winter hits.

[@INTJosh]

"Despite my initial concerns, we arrived at my wife's consensus." So subtle, so much truth, love it.

[@johnhelwig8745]

Wow, great video Laurence. Just wondering if you forgot the Sixth Stage... where after putting away your winter gear, an April Polar Express from Canada roars down and dumps a half foot of snow. Anyhow, you need to embrace the season and its activities. Try cross country skiing at the Forest Preserve/Sagawau Nordic. That would make a great video. BTW: Are you going to look like Cody at the next live-chat?

[@marye.fox-grimm6541]

(1) Best video re wintry Chicago ever! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ & I'm a native Chicagoan. Bravo especially for your marvelously droll comments re hellscape & tundra! (2) Terrific accent for your weatherman shtick! (3) Technically all trails in the Cook County forest preserves could be used for cross-country skiing -- if there's enough snow (& if the parking lots are clear). Of course it would be wise -- but not as adventurous/foolhardy/comical -- to become familiar with a trail in warmer weather before venturing out. (4) Please consider doing a video on the survival skills used by amateurs re layering for freezing/blizzardy weather. This would include: layering plastic breadbags (Wonderbread bags when I was a kid) between your 2 pairs of socks & your boots; debates about the superiority of wool vs cotton vs other types of socks; the importance of wearing gloves under your mittens; & how & why to wear 2 scarves. Of course Wisconsonians, Nebraskans & Minnesotans will be inclined to brag about their variations on that theme. (For example: hats with earflaps & Carhartt's heavy-duty working clothes.) Great fun, as Miranda would say.

[@Puddlef1sh]

Could always hit up Wilmot. Closest ski area to the metro

[@JohnLumagui]

The wind coming off Lake Michigan in Winter is called "The Hawk", which I experienced watching a Bears/Eagles game in December ages ago. It was so cold I bought two cups of hot chocolate. Not to drink, but just hold in my hands to keep warm! They were both frozen by the third quarter...

[@LoveK1]

Yep, when it’s really cold it feels like your cheeks are being cut.

[@ScooterBond1970]

third quarter? It seriously took THAT LONG? (lol)

[@amystreasuresdesign]

This is the first time I've ever heard anyone call the wind, the hawk. I've lived here (Chicago/IL) my whole life, 50 years now.

[@lizalove91]

I’ve lived here since 2014 and I’ve never heard that…

[@dumpsterfire3214]

@@LoveK1yeah windchill is a bitch, it can make u feel like ur skin is being ripped off, especially when the wind is faster than 15 mph

[@kate4781]

I lived in Chicago for 7 years after growing up in Florida and now live on the south coast of England. People ask me if I enjoy living here and one of my honest answers is "I love how boring the weather is." No hurricanes, no blizzards, no -50 windchills, no feels loke 120 degrees F. I get the most suprised looks and questioning of my seriousness. I mean, I could use a bit more sunshine and the showers can be quite scattered, but I have yet to feel like my face is being stabbed with tiny needles while my nose runs from the cold and freezes my scarf to my face or any of that nonsense

[@AllenUry]

As a Chicago native who almost froze to death when my car stalled out on the Northwest Tollway on what was then the coldest day in the city's history, I feel your pain. But I was smart enough to relocate to Southern California the next year and never looked back. Except for funerals. And all my relatives seem to die in February. Just to spite me.

[@Beingteachablewithkim]

I’m sorry but I did chuckle at the final sentence lol.

[@adamewing6883]

This video proves while I love watching Laurance. It is not about the content but his comedy. I love the dry wit. I think this is one of his best videos of all time.

[@marye.fox-grimm6541]

💯%!

[@micheller.8370]

For me January feels like the month that will never end.

[@stardust949]

For me, it's March...in Ohio, March is all about MUD and the world has been grey and brown for at least two months.

[@tamarastone141]

@@stardust949 yup...it's March for me as well. 😩😩😩

[@xpatsteve]

I can relate to winter in Chicago. I grew up in the snow belt in northeast Ohio, just east of Cleveland. Lake effect snow, freezing winds across Lake Erie, and the lake itself being frozen solid even as we headed to the beach on those first days of spring.

[@roguelily7957]

Ahh the great lakes winter. I'm east of Lake Michigan and we get lake effect snow. Then there is the hot, humid summer and the hot wind coming off the lake. It's amazing to try to explain to someone that lake Michigan creates its own weather. Chicago is beautiful in every season even when your snow freezes and you feel like you might die walking from the El to your apartment.

[@hivoltage-wk2fp]

I feel your winter pain. I lived in Missoula, Montana for 4 years. Winter there is from September to May. The 4 seasons of Montana are: almost winter, winter, still winter & July.

[@5fingerjack]

In Eastern Montana, it's "winter", "40 below", "still winter but time to wear shorts", and "Hotttttttt!!". That last season can't start until July 15 because it might snow up until then. During "Hottttttttt!" it will get up to 115 degrees and there will be Zero overcast days. "But it's a Dry Heat!" 😂😂😂

[@dawnf.1703]

Born and raised in Chicago. This is 💯 percent accurate yet I love my city! 🥰

[@erikellis1418]

Normally deep dish pizza is primarily for the tourists, but when you're fighting the February cold, pushing your way through icy winds off the lake and snow up to your knees, few moments in life surpass that moment when you take a seat in a cozy pizza place and order up a deep dish sausage pizza and a hot toddy. --- Man, I miss Chicago!!!

[@zztopwater8568]

I hail from the Greater Chicagoland Area and I also suffer from extreme seasonal affective disorder. However, I wouldn't really be able to appreciate springtime/summer without having our horrible winters.

[@kytofton]

I’m from Grimsby, and live in the willows estate and watch your stuff all the time, great content man, keep it up 😁

[@sallyintucson]

Your midwestern accent was right on the money! I think you’d like winter where I live - The Sonoran Desert. 🌵

[@missingnola3823]

Best weather report ever. Most accurate. And best American accent on any weather report in the USA, too.

[@slcRN1971]

This is one of the very best presentations, that you’ve ever done. 👍👍👏👏❣️😆 Cold white 💩, is an appropriate name for ‘snow’. While our children were growing up, I used to tell them that SNOW is one of the only four letter curse words - that they won’t get in trouble for saying.😆

[@mattwhite847]

As someone who lives in Minneapolis I have to say our winters are excruciatingly similar, good luck beating the February blues!

[@tgardenchicken1780]

Agree.

[@loboheeler]

The weather in Minneapolis will be in Chicago 2 days later. I have lived in both places.

[@DontUputThatEvilOnMe]

Minneapolis is considerably colder than Chicago.

[@1005corvuscorax]

I'm sitting here listening to this and my wife says "Is that John Oliver? Sounds like John Oliver" I laughed for 10 minutes, non stop, tears down my face! O my gosh, I love her so damn much!!

[@Objectified]

The weatherman was so on point my brain automatically tuned him into the background for a moment while my focus drifted elsewhere. Very nice job.

[@szqsk8]

I’m so glad I’m in Southern California🌴 Winter here - many trees stay green, some lose leaves but not all, especially palm trees, people switch from cargo shorts and flip flops to cargo shorts, UGG boots and jackets. I do see more people wearing neck scarves than they used to though. I even bought a pair of gloves 2-3 years ago.

[@conniethingstad1070]

love it! I so appreciate you talking about the midwest...we kind of fade into non existence. I laughed at the eastern time zone...go to work in the dark in Indiana, leave work in the dark in Indiana. Iowa isn't quite so bad being on the eastern end of central time. The only time I went to Chicago in the winter was flying in and out of O'Hare to go to California. I ended up sleeping overnight on a bench in the airport due to a huge snowstorm that shut down everything. Great midwesterner accent for the weatherman!

[@AnnieE2013]

"Go to work in the dark in Indiana, leave work in the dark in Indiana...." So darn true!! Worst was when I worked 6p - 6a shifts, lol. I felt like I never saw sunlight!

[@conniethingstad1070]

@@AnnieE2013 I know right? I was thankful to have huge windows in my office so I at least saw daylight.

[@alanflor703]

Iowa isn't much better. I work nights, so the only daylight I see in the depths of Winter, are about two hours when I come home in the morning. By the time I get up in the late afternoon, it's already dark again. Depressing.

[@cisium1184]

I grew up on the opposite end of the Eastern time zone and we had the same phenomenon in December. Sun up at 7AM and down at 3PM. Very common for people to go from Sunday afternoon to Saturday morning and never see the sun.

[@HermesSonofZeus]

Words and images a love letter to a city I love. Born in Chicago, lived in England for ten years. Love your stuff.

[@emom358]

Your weatherman was spot on. I lived about 30 miles from Chicago, and decided to take a week and be a tourist, in winter. I loved it, I saw much I missed by driving in for the museums and cultural events.

[@aarondavis8433]

I feel your pain, I relocated to Cleveland Ohio, last year from North Carolina. That summer in NC was one of the hottest and most humid we had in years, That winter was my first in Ohio, where the people were telling me it was the coldest with the most snow they had seen in a long time... joy of joys

[@saraduty8972]

I just moved to the Cleveland area a year and a half ago from Tennessee. Last winter was about what I expected but many people told me it was kind of mild. We will see....

[@Jordy773]

Snowy winter makes you appreciate a green summer even more, I feel like.

[@autumnwishes8364]

His videos are so entertaining! It's like watching a sitcom turned into a movie turned into a play 😆😆

[@colleenmonfross4283]

Your weatherman nailed the American accent, Lawrence. Well done!

[@blindleader42]

Several of them, all at once. Some of those Wisconsin vowels evoked bitter memories of my youth in the Midwest.

[@idoc-2]

Except when he said "Feb-rue-ary.' Most Midwesterners don't pronounce the "r" in February.

[@andreamills5852]

The weatherman!🤣😂👏👍 You need to be on TV!😂🤣 Someone put this man on TV PLEASE!🤣😂

[@lyndarina9839]

Yes, please do more weather reports for all seasons. Love your humor. Everyone loves to hear about, and talk about the weather, so you have expanded your fan base.

[@yousefnoori]

As someone from the Middle Eastern desert who has been living in central Illinois the past couple of years, I relate to everything in this video! The winter is bruuuuutal every year.

[@critterscute3642]

Just found your channel today. My life is complete! Your British humor is second to none! Being a lifelong Chicagoan, this video was truly hysterical! 😂

[@winterman63]

Born, and raised in Chicago. I love our winters, of course, I was born in January, back in 1963. So i have endured many of them. Glad you love the city. Chicago is the best.

[@Jessica_P_Fields]

Ooh, "major life event" happening between now and February. Interesting!

[@kathywiseley4382]

I will be checking in every morning now!

[@mittens4kittens435]

I want to know, too! Baby?

[@mrs.headspace]

Came looking to see if anyone else caught that too!

[@wolacouska3698]

Oh my god he put every single one of my thoughts about Chicago winter into words. Especially that part about February!!!

[@rachelk4805]

I think the best advice I received when I moved to the Northern part of the country was to plan on taking a vacation in February. Everyone goes to the desert or the tropics.

[@koneill123]

You forgot stage six: When it reaches 50 degrees in March, and you run around in shorts because it so "warm"!

[@ogrejehosephatt37]

It took me way too long to recognize you doing the weather man, Laurence. I was actually quite surprised when I realized what was happening.

[@duaneperkins8329]

I feel you, Laurence. I live in Casper Wyoming but grew up in Denver. One state down but about 10 degrees warmer in the winter. But it's not the cold that does it too you here, it's the wind...all the time in the winter. Wind chill ranges from 15 to 35 degrees colder than the temperature. Visited my wife in Denver (I have to work in Casper but she has a job in Denver...never mind, that's another story) and it was 60 degrees, the next day I drove back to Casper and it was 35 with a wind chill of 5. We actually hit a wind chill of -55 this year. The winter is just so depressing (at least you have your wife with you). Love your show, thank you.

[@ericawolak2238]

I'm in Chicago and my brother is in Lansing and it's bonkers to me that it's still daylight at 10 pm in the summer in Lansing. Where you fall in your timezones really does make a huge difference.

[@luisvelasco316]

When I was a medical resident in Chicago I was asked by the other residents why I was waiting till February to take my (must take all 3 weeks in 1 bloc) vacation. I commented that Chicagoans know there's a reason February only has 28 days and I was going to be on a plane to Mexico the day my break started. When I returned, everyone understood my rationale !

[@lynntaylor9681]

As a Wisconsinite, I think this is hilarious. I've lived here in a suburb in the metro area of Milwaukee since I was one and a half. I can't imagine not being used to the snow and cold. It's gotta be hard for Southerners (I know you're from the UK but i don't consider the UK to have winter so I group your country in with the Southerners). Good luck getting through the winter. Edit: If you live here long enough you might get used to it. Bratwurst sounds nice. It's so good. Great video Lost in the Pond. I love your fake weatherman Midwestern accent. I hate to tell you but winters here have been mild since 1996 except for that one year a couple years ago. My area used to get a lot of snow in November and it doesn't anymore. Now we normally don't get a lot of snow until January. Cold is the same though I think. I'm pretty sure Chicago is similar.

[@user-vm5ud4xw6n]

Gotta be honest! Hubby was stationed in HI for 5 years and when he refused to retire there it was the second time in 14 years of marriage (at the time) that we came close to divorce. I was perfectly happy to spend Christmas on the beach and wear shorts to the mess hall to enjoy the holiday dinner. We have been living in IN since ‘89 and I have been depressed ever since. With the brief exception of almost 3 years in AL who only has 2 temperatures on their calendar. Hellishly hot and crazy freaking cold (100 degrees in summer dropping down to 20-30 in winter is freaky cold). Time change is definitely something I can relate to. They have been trying to do away with the change probably since the word was invented. Hasn’t happened yet. I lose all track of time for about a month twice a year until my brain catches on that it’s either DST or EST!! Thanks Cerulean Laurence!

[@jerelull9629]

In southEast Pennsylvania, we haven't even gotten a good snow yet. As I "speak" our yardman is blowing the leaves into piles for the township to pick up (eventually)

[@TheJustineCredible]

Chicago winters and Milwaukee winters are 100% exactly the same. I grew up in the Chicago burbs and now live near downtown Milwaukee and honestly, I can't tell the difference. Yes, we have had fairly mild winters so far, since I move up here six years ago. Even so, something tells me this year is gonna be really cold!

[@cindyloomis-torvi3396]

I’m from metro Detroit and did the same!

[@centrist5690]

@@jerelull9629 We haven't gotten any snow here in Chicago area yet neither (except few flakes) so far but it'll arrive sooner or later...

[@mikearndt8210]

i’ve lived in chi and my whole life and this is a very accurate account of the winter. i once traveled to the arctic circle in norway, and it was 32 fahrenheit. at the same time in chicago it was -20 with wind chills

[@halfkinrainbolt7041]

I lived on the side of a mountain, playing at homesteading for a few years about two miles from the Canadian border in the PNW. We had three seasons. Winter, mud and August.

[@tommesgulo275]

well, this video is a masterpiece! You just get better and better! Very impressed with your story telling and high quality production. This must have been a lot of work!

[@DarkHorsePod953]

👆👆To partake in our current investments mentorship/insights

[@MoctezumaStudios]

I love this man, I hope to meet him one day while walking downtown.

[@crystalb410]

I need more videos with Cody in my life. It was a surprisingly accurate accent. Lol

[@mikecrisafulli8970]

As a native of the Chicago area, I just want to say well done on this video, and excellent job on the American accent during the weather reports!

[@QuincyDisneyVegan]

Laurence (and Tara), Great accent, acting and storytelling! This is so far my favorite video of yours, especially because I love and appreciate all the work and details you've put into this

[@hmichaelr1]

Yes, I agree - brilliantly written and performed! It had me laughing out loud!

[@0hffs]

My thinking prior to viewing your video was "Let me see if he gets this correct" because Chicago/Midwest weather is not as consistent as many think it might be. There's all sorts of winter trauma we face. And everyone is familiar with TOM SKILLING who is a living weatherman legend. ONE WORD for our winter is UNPREDICTABLE.

[@courtjunk7]

As a native Illinoisan this rings so true to me. Don’t forget about the Spring of Deception tho! That’s the random 80 degree day in March that always happens in between two huge snow storms haha

[@dalairem]

1988-1999 Chicago veteran and Loyola grad checking in. This was so right on, tip to end! Thank you for the best laughs and fondest memories I've enjoyed in a long while. I grew up in the Northeast, which was rather cold, especially on the ski slopes I grew up on, but Chi-Town beat it to a pulp over winter. Totally different kind of cold, there, with the most fascinating results. At the Loyola campus one year, I met with some friends before class only to be greeted by mini glaciers flying up ice ramps made by the current, sailing through the air and exploding against the sidewalk, one after another. Free entertainment! They put some cones down to keep the smurfs from getting too close. The rest of us just sat there on the steps of the old Damen Hall with steaming coffees and made bets on the next ice shard's fallout distance. Youth is grand. It's also grand commuting in Chicago and along the Kennedy Expressway in a 1988 Pontiac Fiero when the March slush makes normal cars look like an unruly herd of motorized dinghies. I escaped through the sunroof a couple of times when I had been forced to float off to the median of shame, where I could finally wave for the assistance of a kindly person with a truck that could pull me far enough to crawl up Bessie Coleman Drive with the hazards on. Their endless click-click would invade my errant moments for days. Still was more convenient than the L at that time. (I moved that May to an apartment near the line.) I was in the North Suburbs visiting my mother another winter when a funny little front rendered it colder there than on the north pole for a few days. Well prepared by that many years in, I still couldn't have enough down-stuffed gear, from my babusha w/ earflaps hat to my parka and knee-high canvas outer chunky boots, and a layer of wool everything underneath all that before getting actual normal clothing...which was mostly fleece. Having dug a tunnel from the front door, my Great Pyr (also booted) and I proceeded to enjoy walking over the other hills of 8+ foot deep snow drifts, over the fence and into the adjacent park, where I waited with excruciating silence for him to, with leisurely discrimination, sniff out a good potty spot through the rock-hard blanket of snow...or lake effect, or both, one glob after another. Whatever the eff the white s*** was made of, there was a few feet of it at the lowest point between there and the house, and we still had a heck of a climb to get back with the usual soul-depleting wind in our faces. I couldn't wait to get back to the city, where it was...sane. And yet, for all that, I adored living there and still miss it. I'm in central Virginia now, where an inch of snow in just freezing enough weather brings the region to a grinding halt for days on end. I just sit in my house, watch it melt under the daytime sun, sip coffee and laugh. Thank you again for your terrific video!

[@Aikidragon_Prime]

The last winter I spent in Chicago it got to -20f without the windchill, about -40f with the wind. Chicago is a city of weather extremes, summer was 100+f with 96% humidity. With the rainy season seeing the rain falling horizontally instead of vertically because of the wind, it's a city I'm glad to be from.

[@alb8758]

Ottawa native, your winter take is precious.

[@ConservativeVeteran]

I'm in Chicago right now....came for the parade and KrisKindleMart on Thanksgiving Day. Thankfully, I'll be back home before the cold really sets in. It did snow lightly the first few days I was here then warmed up to the high 40s. The weatherman must have known this southern girl wouldn't have left the house if it had been below 30 degrees. 😁

[@melanezoe]

This has to be my favorite episode. Well done. The weather man was hilarious.

[@darryljones215]

February in the Midwest is actually 3 months of the 15 month year!! Thanks from northern Illinois….

[@rmur4820]

OOOOH Laurence you've outdone yourself. Brilliant!

[@rmur4820]

@Lostinthepond15 SPAM much?

[@artphotognh]

I was born & raised in NH, so your observations brought back fond memories - of the day I finally moved South. Arriving at work in the dark, then leaving in the dark, for month after month, was a true joy. February was the peak of Arctic misery; grey skies & dirty snow for months already, but STILL months away from seeing the sun, or a color that isn't greyish - brown. I still cannot believe people STAY in places like that...

[@kevinbyrne4538]

Whenever I encounter a New Englander who speaks fondly of winter, I want to involuntarily commit said person. I can't understand how any human can be fond of the interminable cold, gray, and darkness that is winter.

[@FRAME5RS]

I live in NH, transplant from LA. Lots of sunny days in the winter. Every season is just long enough, changing right when you get sick of it. Hot weather-less places are a bore to me. I'm a pale skinned blonde with blue eyes. I am most uncomfortable in the blazing sun. I think I'm happiest under a cloudy sky.

[@jeffcook3747]

I'm from Massachusetts and the first snow is magical. Thirteen storms and countless hours shoveling and I'm beyond done

[@melbaker9495]

Loved the "Rick Steeves" reference.

[@jerelull9629]

*I* almost missed the "Rick Steves" reference; it kinda snuck up on me.

[@johnopalko5223]

I lived in Chicago for the first 32 years of my life. When I got a job offer in Seattle I was out of there like a shot. Lemme see... Subarctic chill or 40 degrees and rain... Decisions, decisions... I've been living in the Pacific Northwest since 1987 and haven't looked back. I don't miss the Chicago summers, either. It gets just as hot here (Portland) but the humidity is surprisingly low.

[@steveed3667]

I really miss Chicago. I lived there as a child over 40 years ago. The winter was my favorite time of year.

[@DarrinSnider]

Cripes. I live in Indianapolis now, but spent two Winters in Chicago. In one of those, we got an inch of snow the first week of May. You're spot on.

[@bluegreenglue6565]

You rock! : ) What a delightful time you have creating these for us (I assume). Though probably not as delightful a time as we have watching. Thanks so much!

[@Quarton]

Hmmm, that name: "Blue Greenglue" are you sure you're not "really" Cerulean Greenglue?

[@bluegreenglue6565]

@@Quarton "Like a cool breeze..."

[@bluegreenglue6565]

Damn! Misquote. Should be "is a gentle breeze..."

[@caseyleichter2309]

I do like these Special Episodes. Your Chicago Weather Guy is hilarious: bet the city would love to see you forecast the next heaping helping of cold white sh*t every night. Well done!

[@anncoxwell7015]

Winters like this are why I’ve stayed in the South. I like the little bit of snow we get…in the grass and the vegetation, not so much on the roads. Many Christmases with the A/C on and wearing shorts/t-shirts. My kind of winter.

[@kelly1827]

That kind of snow is what I in NJ call "decorative snow". Or "Hallmark Movie snow". Pretty, good for visuals, but doesn't require anything of you.

[@lelandunruh7896]

I'm from Texas and lived in Bloomington, Indiana for a couple years. It gets *cold* there, but nothing compares to the wind off Lake Michigan hitting you when you're not ready for it! I was really fond of Loyola's law school, but realized I would go through one winter and cry until my tears froze.

[@scruffiestofnerfherders7397]

Typically, Jan and February start the annual Midwest weekly retreat to someplace warm and sunny

[@rtyria]

Snow birds.

[@Georgianne77]

Thanks! When will you be applying for the weatherman position at your local Chicago TV station❓You were fantastic in this video‼️👍🏻