--- title: People Test Frigid Cold With Boiling Water in Videos description: As Antarctic-like temperatures spread across the Midwest, people put the extreme cold to the test by throwing boiling water in the air. canonical: https://time.com/5516534/boiling-water-in-freezing-air/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-01-30T18:19:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-13T08:21:21.642Z og:title: Midwesterners Put Frigid Cold to the Test With Boiling Water og:description: A polar vortex has brought Antarctic-like temperatures to the U.S. og:url: https://time.com/5516534/boiling-water-in-freezing-air/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcbd5c84d4c6d996a/6989443de76ad2563c634136/boiling-water-thrown-in-air.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: boiling-water-thrown-in-air og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Midwesterners Put Frigid Cold to the Test With Boiling Water twitter:description: A polar vortex has brought Antarctic-like temperatures to the U.S. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcbd5c84d4c6d996a/6989443de76ad2563c634136/boiling-water-thrown-in-air.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Frigid Midwesterners Are Putting the Extreme Cold to the Test by Throwing Boiling Water in the Air > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=b90ad757-0791-49a0-92a5-93ea9fbabc9c&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Record-Breaking Freezing Temperatures Hit the Midwest [Watch (HLS stream): Record-Breaking Freezing Temperatures Hit the Midwest](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/KpUhYJBq.m3u8) (1:07)  _Published 2019-01-30. Extreme cold and record-breaking temperatures are crawling into parts of the Midwest after a powerful snowstorm pounded the region_  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Jan 30, 2019 6:19 PM UTC Extreme cold and record-breaking temperatures are crawling into parts of the Midwest after a powerful snowstorm pounded the region  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Jan 30, 2019 6:19 PM UTC As [Antarctic-like temperatures](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/28/us/polar-vortex-cold-weather.html) spread across the Midwest this week, people put the [extreme cold](http://time.com/5515250/record-breaking-freezing-temperatures-hit-the-midwest/) to the test by throwing boiling water in the air. With a [polar vortex](http://time.com/5516297/polar-vortex-mail-delivery-suspended/) causing wind chills to drop as low as [60 degrees below zero](https://weather.com/forecast/national/news/2019-01-28-polar-vortex-midwest-arctic-air-coldest-two-decades) in some states, Midwesterners are filming themselves demonstrating what happens when you toss boiling water into freezing air. The often viral videos see participants brave the cold to showcase how quickly boiling water turns into snow when flung into a bone-chilling breeze. According to [_National Geographic_](https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/01/frozen-bubbles-boiling-water-freezing-explained-bomb-cyclone-bombogenesis-winter-weather-viral-videos-spd/), this winter phenomenon occurs because of how close boiling water is to evaporating. “Because they’re so hot, those tiny water droplets start to vaporize. But since cold air can’t hold as much water vapor as warmer air, the water condenses. Extremely cold temperatures quickly freeze the water droplets, which fall as ice crystals,” _Nat Geo_ reports. Some people have even started getting creative with the experiment. “Boiling water. SuperSoaker. Oven mitts. Let’s go,” one enthusiastic Twitter user captioned his footage. > [](https://twitter.com/StarrburyMike/status/1090634940478308353) See some of the other videos below. > [](https://twitter.com/%5Fcingraham/status/1090380574001250304) > [](https://twitter.com/ARobertsjourno/status/1090601793086803968) > [](https://twitter.com/jordanwilson04/status/1090619051095793664) > [](https://twitter.com/%5F%5Fm%5F%5Fa%5F%5Fx/status/1090633842275299329) > [](https://twitter.com/Dough%5FB17/status/1090595219270180864) > [](https://twitter.com/Clay%5FCarroll/status/1090631362309246976) > [](https://twitter.com/mbdunneback/status/1090612532987994112) ## Transcript [ SOUND ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Ready? I'm gonna throw it right up in the air okay? You say go. Go. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] My. [ LAUGH ]. What'd you think of that? 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