Stephen Colbert and Trevor Noah aren't sure fake-arresting Frozen's Elsa is helping tame the polar vortex

Trevor Noah and Stephen Colbert talk about the polar vortex

(Image credit: Screenshots/YouTube/The Late Show, The Daily Show)

Congress is trying to avert another government shutdown, Britain is writhing in Brexit chaos, and Venezuela is on the brink of civil war — "but nobody cares about any of that today, because it's too damn cold," Trevor Noah said on Tuesday's Daily Show. He showed news footage from the polar vortex bringing dangerously cold weather to the upper Midwest. "Seriously, I never get why reporters have to go into the bad weather to warn us about it," he said. "They're never like, 'Earlier today, a man was shot in the leg — and it looked like this. [Bang] Aaaugh!'"

"It's so cold that I looked in the mirror this morning told myself to go back to Africa," Noah joked. He puzzled over news anchors comparing Minnesota's weather to Mars, showed some scientific demonstrations, and joked about President Trump's confusion over climate change. "Most of us are miserable when it's this cold," he said, "but apparently there's one group that is having a blast right now: the police." He showed photos of cops freezing their uniforms, urging criminals to stay home, and arresting Elsa from Frozen

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Arresting Elsa was an ice bridge too far for Stephen Colbert. "Look, officers, I know you're just being playful, but blaming a beloved children's character on a dangerous situation is just gonna scar the kids," he said on The Late Show. He came up with another example using Paddington Bear. "Chicago's so ridiculously cold that in order to keep trains running, they had to deliberately set the train tracks on fire," Colbert noted. "That's called Chicago improv. That idea came from Chicago Fire Commissioner Pyro Billy." He offered "some cold-weather tips to the good people of Chicago," based on his time there, and he brought props.

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The Late Show also had some bracing polar vortex advice from Skadi, the Norse goddess of winter. Watch below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.