The Five Stages of a Chicago Winter 

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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!

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

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

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! 😂

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.

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 :)

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 😂

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

I'm impressed by weatherman Cody.

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

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.

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! 🤣🤣🤣

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

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.

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!

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

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".

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

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)

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

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?

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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...

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.😆

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!!!

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! 😂

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!!

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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

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.

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

My favorite time of year in Chicago is winter, it's so peaceful, serene and quiet outside, compared to most of the year. And I'd rather freeze in the winter cold than melt in the summer heat - Like the Scandinavians say, "There is no bad weather, only bad clothes."

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

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

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

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.

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

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!

I remember back in January 2019 was when I experienced my coldest temperature during a Chicago winter, -21F. I had to take my dog out in it so he could relieve himself outside. We were out in it for about 10 minutes! Then we rushed back inside. My beard started to freeze. To be fair, subzero temperatures don't occur all winter long in Chicago. After a couple of days it rose to a balmy 14 degrees. I am thankful for the heat lamps on the 'L' platforms.

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

Ottawa native, your winter take is precious.

Loved the "Rick Steeves" reference.

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.

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

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.

OOOOH Laurence you've outdone yourself. Brilliant!

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!

After more than 10 years living in the city, I finally left Chicago this past year for California, strictly because of stages 3 and 4, and although my rent is considerably higher, I was sitting outside in shorts and a t-shirt today (in late January).

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

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!

Always great observations love your perspective on the USA The weather report very funny could be your best yet. Keep up the great work!!!!

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

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.

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

When I left Chicago for the UK in 2010, I took my parka, aka sleeping bag with a hole at the bottom. I wore it once in the nine years I lived in London, but that was in Sweden in March.

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

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.

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 !

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!

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. 😁

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

The 5 stages of Chicago winter as I remember it... 1. The Hawk 2. Snow 3. Black Snow 4. More Hawk 5. The Big Slush

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.

The wind cutting between the buildings will freeze your marrow. Deadly.

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.

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!