As a meteorologist and a mom, I’ve learned a thing or two about staying cool on a hot day — and not just in front of the green screen. Whether you’re heading to a baseball game, beach day, or picnic in the park, keeping your kids’ drinks cold can be a losing battle. But here’s the good news: science has your back.

Here’s how to use evaporative cooling and a clever salt trick to outsmart the heat and keep those juice boxes, water bottles (and yes — beers) icy cold, longer.

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💧 Hack #1: The Wet Paper Towel Trick (Evaporative Cooling)

What You’ll Need:

• Your kid’s drink (juice box, pouch, or water bottle)

• 1 paper towel (dampened)

• A freezer

How It Works:

Wrap the drink in a wet paper towel and place it in the freezer for 15–20 minutes before you head out. The water in the towel begins to evaporate, pulling heat away from the surface of the drink — it’s the same process that cools our skin when we sweat.

Science Behind It:

This is called evaporative cooling. The water molecules in the paper towel absorb heat energy from the drink as they turn into vapor, cooling it down rapidly — even faster than putting the drink in a freezer alone.

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❄️ Hack #2: Supercharge Your Cooler with Salt

What You’ll Need:

• Ice

• Rock salt or table salt

• A cooler

How It Works:

Add a generous handful of salt to your cooler’s ice. The salt lowers the freezing point of water, allowing your ice to melt at a colder temperature — which makes the entire cooler colder than 0°C. That means your drinks stay icy for hours.

Science Behind It:

It’s called freezing point depression. Salt disrupts the ability of water molecules to bond into ice, so the ice has to absorb more heat to melt — making everything around it significantly colder. This same principle is why we salt roads in winter!

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🍺 Bonus: It Works for Grown-Up Drinks Too

Here’s the best part: these hacks don’t just work for your kid’s juice box. If you’re packing a little parent-friendly refreshment for after the kids are asleep (you know the vibe), that wet paper towel + salty cooler combo keeps your beer colder, faster, and longer.

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☀️ Final Forecast?

Smart science + practical parenting = a cooler day for everyone.

Give these tricks a try this weekend — and let me know what else you’d like me to explain next Forecast Friday!

Plus, check out a few more hacks in this video, here!