New York Mayor Bill de Blasio stages dramatic reading of Onion article

Suffice it to say, many New Yorkers were a bit grumpy with Mayor Bill de Blasio Tuesday.

After the mayor declared the city was bracing for a snowstorm "the likes of which we have never seen before," hundreds of flights were cancelled, supermarkets were wiped clean of food, and a strict travel ban was imposed across the city.

Then the storm came, and the derision began: “They talk about history and record,” Michael Link, general manager of the Belvedere Hotel, told the Wall Street Journal. “It’s record-breaking that we closed down the city for 6 inches of snow.”

So how did a chastened Mayor de Blasio respond? Instead of ducking for cover, he took the storm of criticism with a grain of salt. Or, perhaps, more accurately, with a slice of onion. The Onion, to be precise.

Arriving in the Room 9 newsroom, home to the City Hall press corps, the mayor announced his intention to take questions, but said he would first read a prepared statement. The "statement" was a satirical article in The Onion entitled "NYC Mayor: ‘Reconcile Yourselves With Your God, For All Will Perish In The Tempest.' " He then went on to read the entire 150-word mock news brief, including instructions to “clutch your babes close to your breast” before “death becalms them forever.”

“The furious hoarfrost bearing down upon us knows neither mercy nor reason, and all within the five boroughs will perish, cowering in their brittle dwellings,” the mayor added, complete with straight face and sober tone.

De Blasio has a reputation for being a bit of a jokester. When he was asked during a 2014 snowstorm how many layers of clothing he was wearing, he provocatively unzipped his jacket and flirtatiously replied, "Do you want me to go farther?" The Wall Street Journal reported. His family and staff have continuously described his sense of humor as corny, goofy, and silly.