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Corn sweat will intensify a heat wave this week
U.S. MIDWEST, JUL 21 – Corn crops release about 44 billion gallons of water daily, increasing humidity and heat index during the Midwest's peak growing season, worsening heat wave conditions, experts say.
- Pushing heat indices to dangerous levels, eastern U.S. will face extreme heat and humidity this week, intensified in the Midwest by `corn sweat` phenomena.
- Amid peak growing season, corn fields release vast moisture into the atmosphere, while an acre of corn `sweats 3,000 to 4,000 gallons of water daily`—U.S. Geological Survey.
- Weather.com meteorologist Jonathan Erdman predicts Illinois will see a heat index of 115 degrees by Thursday, July 24, attributions.
- High humidity and heat hinder the body’s cooling via perspiration, increasing heat illness risk while experts caution hydration and avoiding strenuous outdoor activity during midday.
- An analysis by the nonprofit Climate Central found human-caused climate change made this event at least three times more likely for nearly 160 million people, and weather models indicate humid heat will persist over the eastern U.S. for the next week or two.
37 Articles
37 Articles
"Corn sweat" causing humidity in Indiana
PARKE COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Summers in the Midwest always include humidity, making it feel much hotter than the temperature indicates, but what's to blame? "It's not the heat that gets you, it's the humidity", is a phrase all Midwestern residents have heard before, but what many people don't know is that a local crop is adding to that. Dan Quinn is a Corn Specialist for Purdue University Extension. He said corn naturally adds moisture into …
Yep. Corn Sweat Is a Thing and It's Here
Temperatures in the 90s, along with high humidity and dew points, have been joined by an agricultural phenomenon called corn sweat that is making the current heat wave this summer even worse. The actual term for corn sweat is evapotranspiration, where water is released from the plant’s leaves and helps the plants move water. Andy Lesage, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Paducah, says all types of vegetation can hold and relea…
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