David Lynch Forever
A tribute to David Lynch's weather reports and creating an automated homage.
January 20, 2025
During the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when uncertainty loomed like a heavy fog over our daily lives, I found an unexpected source of comfort in David Lynch’s YouTube weather reports. Every morning, the legendary director would appear on screen from his Los Angeles home office, peer out his window, and deliver the day’s weather forecast with his signature earnestness and peculiar charm.
Good morning, it’s August 21, 2020, and once again it’s a Friday. Here in L.A., some low clouds and fog clearing a little bit now. Very still, around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, 21 Celsius. I’m wearing dark glasses today because I’m seeing the future, and it’s looking very bright. Should go up to around 90 degrees this afternoon, around 32 degrees Celsius, and we might be having some clouds with us, but hopefully also some blue skies and golden sunshine. Everyone, have a great day!
Good morning, it’s September 18, 2020, and once again, if you can believe it, it’s a Friday. Here in L.A., much clearer skies, because I think the winds are blowing eastward, blowing the smoke all the way across the country, across the Atlantic Ocean, all the way over to Europe, I’ve heard. Very still right now, around 68 degrees Fahrenheit, 20 Celsius. Today, I’m thinking about the great Buddy Holly. Buddy Holly’s songs, Peggy Sue, Not Fade Away, That’ll Be the Day, so many great songs. What a great player, singer, and songwriter he was. And as many of you know, Buddy Holly was killed in the late 50s, 59, in a plane crash along with Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. Should be going up to around 93 degrees Fahrenheit this afternoon, around 34 Celsius, and it looks like we might be having blue skies and golden sunshine today. Everyone, have a great day.
His consistency was grounding. His optimism, even when reporting overcast skies or rain, was infectious. In a time when the world felt increasingly unpredictable, Lynch’s daily weather updates became a ritual that helped anchor my mornings. There was something profoundly comforting about watching this surrealist filmmaker, known for mind-bending narratives and dark psychological themes, simply telling us about the weather with childlike wonder.
My love for Lynch’s work runs deep. I remember watching Twin Peaks for the first time during a particularly rainy season in Seattle. There was something magical about experiencing the show’s mysterious atmosphere while surrounded by the same misty Pacific Northwest landscapes that inspired it. Each morning, I’d brew a “damn fine cup of coffee” and lose myself in the strange world of Agent Cooper and the Black Lodge. The perpetual drizzle outside my window became a perfect backdrop to Lynch’s masterpiece, making even the grayest Seattle days feel touched by a hint of surreal beauty.
In honor of these cherished moments, I created an automated Twitter/X account @lynch_4ever that channels the spirit of Lynch’s weather reports. The bot pulls real-time weather data from Los Angeles and generates forecasts in his distinctive voice. It captures his characteristic optimism, his appreciation for nature’s simple beauty, and yes, his occasional mentions of how the weather might affect woodworking conditions. The bot is powered by a fine-tuned Gemini 1.5 Flash model.
Some sample tweets from the bot:
Good morning. It’s January 20, 2025. Here in L.A., a beautiful sunny morning. Nice and cool right now, around 49 degrees Fahrenheit, around 9 Celsius. Today I was thinking about the song, I Only Want to Be with You by the band, Dusty Springfield, and she’s got a beautiful voice. By this afternoon, it’ll be warming up to around 67 degrees Fahrenheit, around 19 Celsius, and it looks like these beautiful blue skies and golden sunshine are going to be with us all along the way. Everyone, have a great day.
David Lynch’s weather reports reminded us that even in uncertain times, there’s beauty in the everyday, in the simple act of looking out your window and appreciating whatever nature presents. His genuine enthusiasm for reporting basic meteorological facts somehow made the world feel a little less scary, a little more manageable.
To David Lynch: Thank you for being a beacon of strange comfort during difficult times. Your weather reports may have ended, but their spirit lives on in lines of code, generating little pieces of Lynch-ian weather wisdom every day. You will forever be in my heart. May you rest in peace, maestro.
*Disclaimer: The @lynch_4ever bot hallucinates.