Maine Weather Anchor’s On-Air Laughing Fit Goes Viral After Prank Backfires

Patrick Osborn, a meteorologist at Maine news station WABI, found himself at the center of a viral moment Sunday morning when he lost his composure during a live weather report. The on-air incident featured Osborn struggling unsuccessfully to suppress an increasingly hysterical bout of laughter as he attempted to deliver temperature updates between fits of giggling and gasps for air.

The laughing spell lasted approximately one minute, during which Osborn repeatedly apologized while his speech became increasingly incoherent. He eventually stepped away from the camera before returning and handing the broadcast over to a colleague to regain his composure.

Osborn later explained to co-anchor Brian Sullivan that the uncontrollable fit stemmed from a prank he had attempted on fellow anchor Josh Gabbard during a commercial break. He had played a short Charlie Brown video clip for its audio effects but failed to notice it was actually an hour-long compilation that repeated the sound periodically throughout the program.

When the distinctive “wa, wa, wa” sound of a Charlie Brown phone call unexpectedly played again as Osborn began his weather segment, it triggered his hysterical reaction. “Something as silly and light-hearted as a Charlie Brown sound made me completely lose my composure,” Osborn said, noting that the pressure to maintain professionalism only intensified his inability to control the laughter.

WABI shared the clip on TikTok, where it accumulated nearly nine million views by Thursday evening. The viral video prompted Sullivan to remark that Osborn’s laughter was “the hardest I’ve heard … really anyone laugh.”