Maine Meteorologist Experiences Viral On-Air Laughter After Prank Unexpectedly Backfires

A local meteorologist has captured widespread attention after an on-air moment saw him engulfed in an uncontrollable fit of laughter, which escalated into hysterics as he valiantly tried to regain his professional demeanor.

Patrick Osborn, who was presenting a routine weather report on Maine's WABI news station, left viewers astonished on Sunday morning as he repeatedly attempted, and failed, to suppress his mirth.

The Uncontrollable Broadcast

During the broadcast, Osborn was visibly gasping for air, interspersing temperature readings with bursts of laughter. He apologized multiple times as his speech became increasingly unintelligible due to his escalating giggles.

The laughing spell persisted for approximately a minute, with Osborn briefly stepping away from the camera before returning and eventually handing the broadcast back to a colleague.

Reflecting on the incident with WABI co-anchor Brian Sullivan, Osborn explained,

"I got a fit of laughter that I was not able to control on air, unfortunately. A lot of times, something funny happens, and I’m able to contain myself, but this one, it was just a little too overwhelming."

He disclosed that the laughter was set off by a prank he had intended to play on fellow anchor Josh Gabbard, which inadvertently turned back on him.

A Prank Gone Awry

Osborn recounted how, during a commercial break, he played a brief Charlie Brown video purely for its distinctive sound effects. However, he failed to realize that the clip was an hour-long compilation that would periodically repeat the sound every few minutes.

He described how the audio then unexpectedly played again just as he began his weather segment, almost immediately sending him into a fit of hysterical laughter.

"It’s the Charlie Brown phone call noise. It’s one where his mom or teacher calls him, and it’s the ‘Wa, wa, wa,’" Osborn shared with his station. "Something as silly and light-hearted as a Charlie Brown sound made me completely lose my composure."

He further elaborated on the difficulty of holding back laughter in such a situation:

"I was just trying to keep it together but I couldn't. Like, when you're not supposed to laugh, you're in an environment when you can't laugh, and you're trying to hold it back, that just makes it 10 times worse."

Osborn added that despite his efforts to continue, "Josh had to leave the studio" due to the humor of the situation.

Co-anchor Brian Sullivan, laughing along as he recalled the event, remarked, "That’s the hardest I’ve heard… really anyone laugh."

WABI later uploaded the video clip to TikTok, where it had amassed nearly nine million views by Thursday evening, contributing to Osborn's unexpected viral fame.