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How 'corn sweat' is making the heat wave in the Midwest feel even hotter
Scripps News ^ | July 22, 2025 | Taylor O'Bier

Posted on 07/22/2025 11:40:40 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum

The colloquial term is exactly as it says. It involves corn crops "sweating" through a process formally known as evapotranspiration.

Forecasters say much of the United States could see well-above-average temperatures through this week, primarily in the Midwest and around the East Coast.

Most of the triple-digit temperatures can be attributed to a phenomenon known as a "heat dome," when a large area of high atmospheric pressure traps hot air underneath, similar to the way a lid traps heat and moisture on a pot, meteorologists say.

But in the Midwest specifically, there's another phenomenon adding to the suffocating sun: Corn sweat.

The colloquial term is exactly as it says. It involves corn crops "sweating" through a process formally known as evapotranspiration.

According to the experts, the natural process is how plants release water vapor into the atmosphere, which combines with other molecules in the air and adds to the humidity.

The Midwest is home to millions of acres of corn, earning part of the region the nickname "Corn Belt."

During the growing season, typically spring to early fall, an acre of corn can release about 3,000 to 4,000 gallons of water a day, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Taranis, which is a crop intelligence firm, said 12 million acres of corn "sweating" can add up to 48 billion gallons of water daily, which is roughly enough to fill 73,000 Olympic-size swimming pools.

Unfortunately, we humans (and most animals) are the ones who are actually sweating from this phenomenon.

(Excerpt) Read more at scrippsnews.com ...


TOPICS: Weather
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1 posted on 07/22/2025 11:40:40 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
And if there were no plants around there would be less moisture.

Kill all PLANTS!

2 posted on 07/22/2025 11:43:48 AM PDT by Harmless Teddy Bear ( Not my circus. Not my monkeys. But I can pick out the clowns at 100 yards.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

3 posted on 07/22/2025 11:44:49 AM PDT by Magnum44 (...against all enemies, foreign and domestic... )
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

4 posted on 07/22/2025 11:45:06 AM PDT by PGR88
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

This must be the most hottest summer EVAH because Trump budget cuts and tax cuts for billionaires....


5 posted on 07/22/2025 11:46:06 AM PDT by Organic Panic (Democrats. Memories as short as Joe Biden's eyes.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

https://www.taranis.com/

Taranis: AI-Powered Crop Intelligence for Sustainable Farming
Taranis is a crop intelligence firm
\\


This is a stupid article by a stupid AI.

Corn sweat. That is how dumb it thinks you are!


6 posted on 07/22/2025 11:49:07 AM PDT by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued, but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere)
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

“And if there were no plants around there would be less moisture.”

There would also less oxygen and more carbon dioxide.


7 posted on 07/22/2025 11:49:34 AM PDT by alternatives?
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

An acre of corn can transpire over 4,000 gallons of water per day. Much more than in the past due to much higher plants per acre.

Same took place in the tall grass prairie that preceded the Corn Belt.


8 posted on 07/22/2025 11:52:12 AM PDT by jjotto ("...saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau...")
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

The entire Mississippi River valley is miserable with humidity this time of year. On top of that there has been high levels of rain fall this spring and summer which has added to it.


9 posted on 07/22/2025 11:52:51 AM PDT by MCF (If my home can't be my Castle, then it will be my Alamo)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Propagandists of the Corn. The movie.


10 posted on 07/22/2025 11:53:02 AM PDT by blackdog ((Z28.310) "Diggin the scene with a gangster lean" (Mayfield, Curtis) )
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

With heat like this that has never been experienced before, the corn will already be roasted and ready for consumption at the next barbecue.


11 posted on 07/22/2025 11:53:16 AM PDT by crusty old prospector
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

https://biologydictionary.net/transpiration/

The Water Cycle
Transpiration is part of the water cycle, also known as the hydrological cycle. The water cycle describes how water moves throughout the Earth. First, water transpires from plants and enters the atmosphere as water vapor. Water from Earth’s oceans, lakes, and rivers also evaporates into the atmosphere. The evaporation from Earth’s waterways and from plants via transpiration is collectively known as evapotranspiration. In the atmosphere, the water forms clouds, and then it falls back to earth again as rain or snow. Precipitation collects again in earth’s waterways, or it goes into the soil, where it enables plants to grow. Then water evaporates from plants, oceans, lakes, and rivers again, completing the cycle.


12 posted on 07/22/2025 11:53:40 AM PDT by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued, but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere)
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To: jjotto

An oak tree at maturity pulls 400 gallons of water every day from the ground.


13 posted on 07/22/2025 11:54:54 AM PDT by blackdog ((Z28.310) "Diggin the scene with a gangster lean" (Mayfield, Curtis) )
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Remove all subsidies, price guarantees, fed funded insurance, and kill mandated ethanol in gasoline. Then we can have better food, weather, and cars.


14 posted on 07/22/2025 12:05:44 PM PDT by FreedomNotSafety
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Sounds like we need to cut down the rainforest to save people from humidity down there also.


15 posted on 07/22/2025 12:16:23 PM PDT by miliantnutcase
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To: miliantnutcase

Nothing to do with active weather wars, move along people.


16 posted on 07/22/2025 12:32:34 PM PDT by pops88 ( Helping usher the glory of God into Las Vegas)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

“Unfortunately, we humans (and most animals) are the ones who are actually sweating from this phenomenon.” What I’m sweating now is how much the price of corn sucks.


17 posted on 07/22/2025 12:32:38 PM PDT by kawhill (On his headstone read: DNP. Listed as questionable, day-to-day. I guess he was a baseball player.)
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To: blackdog

Good one!


18 posted on 07/22/2025 12:35:00 PM PDT by vmpolesov
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Just another summer of sweatin’ to the corn: 🌽


19 posted on 07/22/2025 12:35:24 PM PDT by tflabo (Truth or tyranny)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

I’ve experienced it. There’s a huge farm field near our rural neighborhood. There’s a half-mile path in the middle of it that the farmer allows people to use for walking. When he plants corn, you can feel the humidity as soon as you walk down the path. At night, the path has a fog. When he plants soybeans, the humidity is much less.


20 posted on 07/22/2025 12:41:37 PM PDT by Restless
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