Typically during the summertime its hot and humid around our area, right? We all know that, yes, but did you know that in other parts of the country, particularly the midwestern US, that corn and other crops can make it more humid? Yep, you read that correctly. This is sometimes referred to as "corn sweat" or "corn transpiration".
What is transpiration?
To understand corn sweat you have to understand transpiration. So, what is it? Transpiration refers to water that is pulled out of the soil and released into the atmosphere as a gas by plants. It's a type of evapotranspiration, which also includes evaporation, and is a significant way that water vapor enters the atmosphere.
Image: USGS
What does corn and other crops have to do with humidity?
So now that we know what transpiration is, how does corn come into the equation? Corn and other crops naturally give off moisture through their leaves as they progress throughout the growing season every year. The moisture that ends up getting released from these plants increases humidity levels, which when combined with high temperatures makes your heat index values higher! Just one acre of corn can provide up to around three to four thousand gallons of water to the air!
Image: NWS
In fact, you can see this happening throughout much of the summer months with the higher amounts of humidity with higher dew points to our west and Northwest in locations in Missouri and Illinois! Those areas with higher corn production often have higher dew points!
Image: USDA
