The brutal heatwave continues across the state, with conditions now getting so bad that the National Weather Service has issued its first excessive heat warning of the year for the northern half of the state until Tuesday night. Meteorologist Gary Chatelain says heat indices will climb over 110-degrees.
Tomorrow, Alexandria could see a heat index of 110-degrees.
Louisiana sees a 59 percent decrease in the number of wildfires when comparing 2018 to 2008. Arson cases are also down 82 percent, going from 893 in 2008 to 160 in 2018. Ag Commissioner Mike Strain credits a cooperative effort between his department and the Fire Marshal for putting pyromaniacs behind bars.
Strain says those arrests were linked back to 5,240 acres of burned timberland.
Tomorrow morning will be your best chance to catch the famed annual Perseid meteor shower. The brilliant display comes courtesy of the Comet Swift-Tuttle’s yearly voyage around the sun. LSU Astronomy Professor Brad Schaefer says every year around August 12th the Earth’s orbit intersects with the trail of sand grains the comet leaves behind as it travels through the solar system.
Schaefer says Arabic records indicate the shower could be at least 800 years old.
Louisiana is one of only three states in the nation where drivers can buy gas for under $2 a gallon. GasBuddy.com spokesperson Patrick Dehaan says you’re already seeing it in Baton Rouge, and it is possible the statewide average for a gallon could drop to below $2 by Thanksgiving, but..