WBRZ - Baton Rouge

Posted 4:58 PM 5/22/2013 by Pat Shingleton

Open vehicle windows will cool the occupants through evaporation and closed windows reduce automobile drag and possibly less fuel consumption. In 1933, conditioned air was introduced for luxury cars and limousines and Packard's were the first manufacturers to install them in their 1940 models. (More)...

Posted 4:49 PM 5/21/2013 by Pat Shingleton

Debris provides evidence of the effects and impact of a land falling hurricane or a tornado. Remnants of homes, buildings and other objects assist experts in categorizing the strength of a storm. Preliminary analysis of the Moore, Oklahoma tornado, originally identified as 2.5 miles-in-width and (More)

Posted 4:57 PM 5/20/2013 by Pat Shingleton

A gravity wave forms when crests and troughs align in the upper levels, interacting with the atmosphere and the ocean. An undular bore is a gravity wave where the frontal boundary bumps and lifts a shallow layer of air at the surface. With these confusing items noted, flying over the Gulf of (More)

Posted 9:32 PM 5/17/2013 by Pat Shingleton

It's the season for baseballs, tennis balls, soft balls, golf balls and especially an ice-cold snowball. Years ago, a Georgia company created "reef balls." Eternal Reefs secures the ashes of the deceased, adds them to concrete and places them in artificial reefs. Owners of the company claim that (More)

Posted 3:30 PM 5/17/2013 by Pat Shingleton

The tiny town of Green Bank, nestled in the middle of the Allegheny Mountain Range, could be one of the quietest places on Earth. It's the home of the Green Bank Telescope, operating under the auspices of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. NBC News reports that in 1958, the Federal (More)

Posted 3:01 PM 5/17/2013 by Pat Shingleton

Jerry and Lois Thompson keep me posted on changing weather in the Rockies. Many of their travels take them to Alamosa, Colorado, that rests in the San Luis Valley. Jerry mentions that over 50 peaks surround the area at an elevation of 14,000 feet. To the east of Alamosa is LaVeta Blanca with Wolf (More)

Posted 5:20 PM 5/16/2013 by Pat Shingleton

Japanese Prime Minister Okuma Shigenobu hurled the first ceremonial "first pitch" in 1908 in Koshien, Japan, a tradition that has since honored 22 Presidents. Unless a game is rained-out, the ceremony always occurs. The "first pitch" also designates the completion of pregame festivities and the (More)

Posted 4:24 PM 5/15/2013 by Pat Shingleton

Recent lightning storms placed a batch of nitrogen on our vegetation. An archived item from Nature Geoscience noted that scientists challenged a commonly held theory in 2011 about rainfall's activity after reaching the ground. It was previously believed that rainfall entering the soil would mix (More)